The Strange Life of Ella Johnson
by your future plumber
Summary: Ella Johnson was not your typical teenager. Her family is... something else and for reasons outside of her control, she needs to hire a fake boyfriend to be her date for her cousin's wedding. She knew it was a bad idea to pick Jasper Hale. Now her life will never be the same again. Rated 'T' at least for now, Ella has a potty mouth and dirty, dirty mind.
1. Chapter 1

**Ella Johnson was not your typical teenager. Her family is... something else and for reasons outside of her control, she needs to hire a fake boyfriend to be her date for her cousin's wedding. She knew it was a bad idea to pick Jasper Hale. Now her life will never be the same again.**

* * *

 **Chapter 1: Welcome to my life**

You know those days when you just don't want to get out of bed? Yeah, this was one of those days. Mom barged into my room an hour ago and placed that damn card on my nightstand. So not cool.

My family is not a normal one. I mean, it's not like we're something supernatural or some big crime syndicate or anything cool like that. No, we just tend to get married ridiculously young and if you don't at least have a fiance by the time you are 19, you are the big family screw up.

I was fast approaching my 16th birthday and my mom could not stop nagging about me getting a boyfriend. Or a girlfriend. We're liberal like that. She doesn't care what I'll screw as long as it'll put a ring on my finger.

I had become the family pariah when I turned 13 and stupidly told my cousins that I never had a boyfriend. Everyone in my family had found their 'twu luv' when they were in diapers, so I was naturally the odd one out.

I really just wished my family would be normal. That I'd have a dad that would start cleaning his shotgun when some unfortunate soul would come and pick me up for a date. Which I still haven't had to this day, by the way.

I didn't really get what the problem was. I was pretty damn good looking if I said so myself. It wasn't like I was going to win any beauty contests, but I was still above average at our High School level. You'd think some horny teenager would have taken notice of me, but no.

So there it was, the newest bane of my existance. A wedding invitation. My cousin Ariel was about to get married at the ripe age of 18. Like, she literally turns 18 the day before the wedding. Her parents were the old fashioned way and wanted her to be of age. My parents have already petitioned for my underaged marriage license for the odd chance I'd manage to find someone.

It had to be the most generic wedding invitation ever. Boring cream coloured cardboard with fancy, cursive and gold letters. There was even the generic pink lace dangling from the inside of the card. Mom had cruelly left it propped up and open so I could clearly see those damn words.

Plus one.

Ariel was mocking me. That's the only reason she'd even invite my family to her wedding. She was like my third cousin twice removed or something like that. The last time we spoke was at our other cousin's wedding. _Oh, you_ still _haven't found a man? This is my Justin._ Damn I hated her. And _her Justin_.

This was mom's way of kicking me on my ass, trying to force me into the dating scene again. Really, at this point the only people able to save my reputation in the eyes of my family was if I snagged a Cullen to be my date. That would not end up prettily.

The Cullens had been my slight obsession ever since they moved to town six months ago. They all behaved so weirdly and it was downright unnatural to be that attractive. Even Beyonce was second to them and she was the fricking Beyonce.

It had taken me about two weeks to puzzle out that they were, for the lack of a better term, vampires. And let me tell you, it was such a disappointment to learn that our world's version of vampires were beautiful people who drank blood and sparkled in the sun. Yeah, I may have peeked once when the three boys ran off into the woods when the sun suddenly appeared behind a gray cloud.

I had three notebooks filled with observations and theories about the Cullens. For... research. No, but really, you can never know when it comes in handy to know about a vampire or two.

But back to the problem at hand. I really didn't want to go to that stupid wedding. I could almost hear the not-so quiet whispers. _Look at Ella, oh that poor girl. 16 and still single. She'll never get married. I feel so bad for her parents._

I really hated how fucked up my relatives were. It was weird how high success rate these quick marriages had. Only three people from the family I knew of had ever gotten divorced... as far as the family tree goes. That's generations of weirdly lucky people.

Of course, I had no idea what went behind the closed doors. Maybe it was simply the fear of taking the role of the black sheep away from me that kept them married despite hating each other. Or since vampires were apparently real, maybe we were witches or some other supernatural things. You can never know.

Fifty minutes until school starts. Fuck all, I don't want to get out of the bed. When I do, I'll have to face mom's judgemental look. She doesn't like to have such a failure as a daughter. Other parents would be over the moon to have a daughter who was in no danger of being swept away in a teenaged romance that ended in unwanted pregnancy or an STD. Not mine, though.

Mom was actually starting to pick and choose what I was allowed to wear. I've noticed that recently my favourite farted-out sweatpants have started to disappear and in their place are mini skirts, short shorts and skinny jeans. My 'at home' shirts had mysteriously ended up in a charity and sexier shirts had taken over my closet. It was such a breach of personal space. As if I had ever even considered wearing my comfy clothes outside of our house!

"Get up! I have to be at work in half an hour and you _cannot_ go to school looking like that!" Mom yelled from her en suite bathroom.

I groaned and contemplated to just ignore her. _That_ would end up well. Mom ruled our household with an iron fist. She was the oldest of her five siblings and man did it show. Nobody messed with my mom. That was the one thing I admired about her. She was the boss.

Reluctantly, I got up from the bed and sprinted to the en suite bathroom. We all had our own private bathrooms. It was kind of weird that a family of four had three and a half bathrooms. Most households of that size had two at the most.

My older brother had taken off ages ago. To meet up with his fiance. Yeah, he too was getting married. Next summer when his fiance turned 18. It was a small wonder that mom had agreed to wait that long. Having a 19 year old son who was not married must've been horrible.

He was supposed to be my ride to school, but as usual, he bailed. I would have to go with dad. Mom would flip out if I _walked_ to school when it pretty much rained 24/7 around here. Apparently I looked like some swamp monster when I was caught in a rain. She could not live with that embarrasment.

I looked myself in the mirror as I lazily brushed my teeth. My eyes were nearly colourless. There was just the tiniest hint of grey-ish blue in them. They were actually pretty cool, but I had to use a shit-ton of mascara because my eyelashes were pale as fuck. Clumps were my worst enemy and I spent painfully much on fake eyelashes yearly.

My nose was slightly crooked. My brother had broken my nose when I was five and I didn't want to get a surgery to fix it, even though my parents mentioned it at least once a week. My entire face was covered with light orange freckles. At least they brought some colour to my 'death crawled over' shade of white that my skin was.

No cheekbones to speak of and relatively normal pair of lips. They weren't sexily full or weirdly thin. They were just lips. Very chapped lips at the moment. It was about time to bust out the coconut oil.

If there was anything good about having marriage obsessed family, it was that outer appearance had always been a top priority to my parents. My skin care routine cost more than I liked to think about and it took me about an hour each night, but damn did it work. There was never a spot in sight.

I placed gel eyemasks over my eyebags and attacked my hair. My beautiful copper hair, straight out of a bottle. My natural colouring resembled the colour of a dirt road. It was annoyingly long, reaching my butt, and a real pain to try and keep silky smooth. I wanted to cut it off, but my mom would kill me. _Beautiful, long hair attracts people, Ella._ Yeah, but it was so difficult to maintain.

I pinned it up into a stylish, messy half-updo that looked careless enough so people wouldn't think I was making too much effort, but it suited my facial features and more importantly, it kept the hair from sticking to my face.

A quick round of make up later I was back at my room, trying to tackle the mountain of clothes. Mom put a lot more effort in me than in my brother, mostly because he didn't need as much help.

Most of my clothes were custom made. I was weirdly shaped. I was short, 4 ft 11, I had stubby little legs, teeny tiny waist and huge boobs. Nothing straight out of a store fit me right, so it all had to either be radically altered or completely customized from the scratch.

Now, my boobs were all au naturel and a genetic lottery, but my wee little waist had been a torture to achieve. I was on a strict diet and had to hit the gym five times a week. I was more or less used to it, but it was really stupid to tell my friends that 'Sorry, I can't hang out after school. I have to work out. Again'. I'm pretty sure the majority of my friends thought I had a body dysmorphia of some sort. The handful who I considered my closest friends were privy to my fucked up home life, so they at least knew better.

I know people would think that why the fuck am I adhering to these fucked up rules and expectations. Why not simply get the hell out, call the social services or something? Well, for starters, I loved my family. Hated their weird traditions, but I loved them. I wasn't ready or willing to throw them out of my life. Then there was of course the fact that I've been born and bred into this family. To me, all of this was normal on some deep fundamental level. I bitched and moaned about it and wanted it all to stop, but I still went with it because that's what I've been taught my entire life.

The third, and possibly the most important one... How the fuck would I live on my own? I'm almost 16 years old. I don't have a job. There's never time for a job. My parents provide for me. They pay my insurance, my food, my clothes, my hobbies, everything. I wasn't raised to go out there and live the rebel life. I wouldn't survive a week.

"Are you going to wear _that_?"

Ah, the sweet condescending sound of my mother's voice. I held out a black dress with purple polka dots. It fit snugly around my upper body and then flared at the hem that reached to my knees.

"What's wrong with it?" I said, rolling my eyes. Of course something was amiss. God forbid I be allowed to wear whatever I pleased.

"Oh nothing... Just here, put this over it and wear that necklace. You should go with the fall boots, the purple ones."

I looked at the black bolero she had chosen. It was knitted wool and the buttons were these cute little pink pearl hearts. I shrugged, putting it one without making a hassle. I put on the purple mocha ankle boots with two inch heels. Any higher than that and I'd be falling all over the place.

"Can we go now?" I asked impatiently, feeling insecure at how she was checking me out.

"Of course, honey. You look beautiful."

I smiled, unable to stop the silly little girl inside of me from shining with pride at being complimented.

That cursed wedding invitation disappeared from my mind.

000

I watched, bored out of my mind, as the Cullen's sat around their table doing absolutely nothing. I mean, would it kill them to at least pretend to be human? I didn't get why they even bothered to come to lunch when they never touched any of the food they bought. That was way more suspicious than ditching lunch. All the cool kids did it.

It was a small mystery as to how nobody else had seemed to notice that the resident hotties were not human. It was so painfully obvious if you just looked.

"You look beautiful today, Ella." Angela said, sitting down next to me with her tray.

I groaned when I saw the cheesy goodness that was on her plate. I hated nacho day. Cheese was off limits to me. So were those delicious tortilla chips. It had been years since I last ate that divine thing.

"Why do you torture me like that, Ang?" I whined, placing my forehead onto her shoulder. Her floral perfume helped me clear my head from the mouth watering aroma. Why couldn't salad taste that good?

"Sorry, babe. I'm just evil that way."

Angela had been my best friend since we were toddlers. Our moms had been besties back in their youth and the tradition lived on. Ang knew all about my fucked up life and had learned to accept it as the necessary evil. Just like me.

Angela was also the only other person in the school who knew the Cullens weren't human. She liked to call them fairies. She was a fan of some book series where fairies ate raw flesh and enjoyed the taste of blood.

I tried to get into it since it was Angela's favourite, but we had very different tastes. I liked to read books that didn't require any deeper soul searching. Trashy romance novels and murder books. Those were my thing. Angela liked detailed worlds with their own rules and she was way more into fantasy than I'd ever be. She also liked the classics, which only manage to put me into sleep. Then again, Angela was the brains in our relationship.

"So, about that wedding situation..." Angela started carefully, making the nachos way less appetizing immediately. I suddenly didn't feel hungry at all.

"Great! Now my good mood is ruined."

Angela placed a consoling arm around my shoulders and gently ran her fingers through my hair. I didn't want to think about that stupid wedding and my stupid cousin and her stupid Justin. I loved Angela, but she really knew how to bring on the doom and gloom.

"How bad is it going to be?" She asked.

I rolled my eyes, imagining the fiasco that was just waiting to happen. How could I best describe my upcoming encounter with my relatives? Straight out of hell didn't do it justice. I hated family gatherings even when there was not a wedding involved. This would just suck. Big time.

"Let's see... Granny May is going to slap me silly for being unable to get a boyfriend. Ariel is going to be downright insulting and I can't say anything because it's her big day. Mom will make my life miserable as soon as we get back home. Aunties and Uncles will give me those pitying looks and no children are allowed to talk to me. They're afraid my bad luck is infectious. And that's just the best case scenario."

Angela's pretty little nose wrinkled in disgust. Her heart was bigger than most people's but even she had trouble seeing something good in my family. And she had hung around since forever. Imagine what any of my potential future boyfriends would think. It was really weird that the new dating partners and fiances didn't periodically run for their lives when they were first introduced to our family. You'd think that would be normal teen behaviour.

"Have you thought about bringing a fake boyfriend as your plus one?"

Now there was an idea. One that I had frequently thought about and disregarded as stupid and redundant. Sure, a weekend with my family could still work, but what happens when the next family reunion rolls around and my fake boyfriend is nowhere in sight? Yeah, I'll get busted for lying, that's what happens. I'd be even more of a laughing stock than I am now.

I told Angela as much. She hummed in that all-knowing way she did ever so often. Sometimes it was a burden when your bestie is the resident smartypants.

We changed the subject to natural remedies that were rumoured to help with pimples. I've noticed that puberty was bringing out the big guns with Angela and I was pretty sure she would not survive High School without acne. There was already an impressive collection of make-up covered bumps around her forehead and chin.

I suggested a couple of things that would not cost a fortune to try out. Most of the stuff you could just pick up at the closest grocery store. I didn't know how well they would work, since while I dabbled immensly in natural remedies, I also slathered my skin daily by expensive chemicals. I wasn't sure what was it that kept my skin pimple-free, but trying a few couldn't hurt her.

Angela wasn't really into the subject of beauty products, the one thing I had a vast vault of information on, but she humored me often enough. Our relationship was about finding the balance between the things she liked and the things I liked. It had worked out well so far. We both got that much smarter by association. Angela could give Lauren and Jessica a run for their money when it came to beauty tips and tricks and I could fool the mathletes that I knew anything about math.

"Shoot, I have to go to the library. I promised I'd help Eric with his History project." Angela gasped out, looking at the big clock hanging from the cafeteria wall.

"Isn't that like due tomorrow? Even I'm not that bad."

Eric was the bane of Angela's academic existance. I never have figured out how the awkward boy always managed to rope Angela into helping him. It wasn't like they were good friends and I knew for a fact that Angela did not have a crush on Eric. It was a skill. A frightening skill that I really wished I had.

You'd think I'd have dibs on Angela's brilliance when it came to homework and school projects, but oh no. She believed I was smart enough to figure things out on my own and refused to 'coddle' me by helping me. Hence the reason why I was rocking a solid C in most of my classes.

I wasn't raised to be smart. Mom said intelligence scared potential love interests and that was one of those stupid things that had stuck to me like glue. I tried desperately to get smarter, but my brains rejected the idea of studying in favour of flipping through fashion magazines or something like that. It was easier to blame my upbringing than to entertain the idea that maybe I just wasn't smart, period. Everyone wants to be a special snowflake and I was no exception.

"He's helpless. I'll see you after school?"

I shook my head.

"Sorry, can't. Mom's invoked a family meeting. I'll be lucky if I'll be able to get out of the house by next year. I think she's planning on selling me to some oil sheik or something."

Family meetings were sucky, with no exceptions. It was always either me or my brother that had done something upsetting, and chances are this one was about me... like the last five meetings. Brody hadn't been forced in front of the jury since he started dating Faye.

"Call me later. I'll keep my night open in case you need me." Angela said and gave my shoulder a gentle squeeze as a goodbye. I waved my hand after her and went back to the green monstrosity that was my lunch.

000

There was something to be said about Marilyn Johnson and the fierceness she had when facing problems. I really enjoyed watching it all unfold when I was not the unassuming victim. That woman could probably rule the entire world. I couldn't imagine anyone stupid enough to go against her.

That said, she could also be incredibly stupid and vain. Things never ended up well for me when she was like that. You can't just stop Hurricane Marilyn when she's on a roll, no matter how idiotic she was being. That's the sort of a woman I have for a mother.

I looked at her. She looked larger than life as she paced the family room floor. I was sitting in the armchair of shame. My usual spot. Brody and my dad were lounging on the couch, looking like there was nothing wrong with the world. It wasn't hard to figure out who was getting roasted this time. Again. One of these days Brody would mess up... and I will be there, waiting... Revenge is a dish best served cold and I was keeping a very detailed score that needed to be evened out. Some day.

My mom threw me a look that kept my tongue in check. I wanted to be a typical moody teenager ready to throw a fit, but that cold fire burning in my mom's dark brown eyes told me it would be maybe the biggest mistake I would ever make. And that's saying a lot.

"Ella."

God that voice... Like she was sticking an ice pick into my heart. I shivered and curled around myself on the armchair. Guess who was feeling like a five year old...

"You need to find a date for the wedding." She said.

I opened my mouth, words ready to tumble from my lips. She raised her hand sharply and I swallowed those words right back down. You do not poke the bear.

"I have been telling to a few choice relatives that you have been seeing a wonderful young man for two months now. You will not make them question my words. Is that clear?"

Wait, what? The Great Marilyn Johnson has done what? What the fuck?! How was it possible that me, the stupidest of my family, had found faking a boyfriend a disaster in the making, but my mother, the smart, capable powerhouse, had not?

"You did what?" I gasped out, my eyes round and most likely very panicky. My mind was buzzing with noise. Where would I find a fake boyfriend on such a short notice? And if mom had told such a tall tale, he'd have to be the perfect man. There weren't any of those lying around Forks.

"It was Gloria." My dad spoke up while leafing through a magazine.

I slumped into myself. Well, that explained it. My mom might've seemed impossible, but she had nothing on Aunt Gloria. The third youngest of the Rayburn children and mom's very own Ariel. It suddenly made a whole of a lot sense for my mom to get so desperate. Aunt Gloria could drive even a saint to murder someone.

That still left the problem of finding a boyfriend in two weeks. The wedding celebration was held in Seattle and it was supposed to last four days. I know, who the fuck has a wedding that lasts that long? I mean, besides people of India who had like two weeks of wedding partying or something like that. (A/n: I know that's not accurate. Ella is being dramatic.)

I leafed through the school's boy population in my mind. Eric could be roped into playing the part of my boyfriend, but as nice of a guy as he was, he would not be what my mom had described. That boy had no table manners to speak of and as shallow as it was, nobody in my family would be impressed with Eric's oily skin and lanky body. Maybe in a few years when puberty was through with him, but not now.

There was of course Mike, but he was... kind of creepy. He followed Jessica around like a lost little puppy and whenever a hotter girl came around he abandoned her completely. It had been a riot to see Brody almost kicking Mike's ass for trying to make a move on Faye.

Tyler was also out of the question. Lauren would destroy me. I had enough problems in my life. I didn't need the wrath of the Queen Bee to top it all off. Girls were the cruelest creatures ever created and I wanted to avoid conflict with my gender. It was too bad, since Tyler was kind of perfect to play the part of a fake boyfriend.

There were couple of other guys I knew relatively well, but none of them seemed like a possibility. They had no reason to help me and I didn't know them well enough to trust them. Who knew what kind of creeps they would turn out to be.

Eventually my mind shifted to the rather obvious choice. One of the Cullens. The one family that my mom would welcome with open arms, even if she was aware of their blood-drinking habits. They were beautiful, they were polite and by God were they perfect. Anyone of them would shut up Gloria and that bitch Ariel. Even Granny May would find nothing bad to say about them.

"Okay... I might have an idea. I need to talk to Angela." I said and excused myself. I rushed up to my room, threw myself onto my bed and dialed Angela's number. I needed that big brain of hers if I wanted to pull this off and stay alive.

* * *

Author's final thoughts:

Okay, yikes! Here we go. It's my first attempt at a Twilight story. I'm not a fan of the books and that may come across rather strongly as the story progesses. I do find some of the characters fun to read so I wanted to play with them. I would like to apologize beforehand if I end up bashing the books a little too much. :)

I welcome all criticism with open arms. Well, at least I'll welcome it until my self-esteem has crumbled and I'm just a big sobbing puddle on the floor...

On a positive note, it's possible that nobody will ever read this piece of garbage so maybe nobody will comment on it in any way! Always look on the bright side of life...


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Blackmail**

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A nurse left me alone and told me that Dr. Cullen would arrive shortly. Coming here had been Angela's idea. She thought it would be best for me to approach the vampire we both believed to be the most in control and unwilling to take a life. He was a doctor. I hoped we had been right.

Dying wasn't exactly on my to-do list for today, or even for the next 80-90 years. I knew it was a risky move to come here and reveal to a vampire that I knew what he was. But honestly, this was my best chance of getting through that fucking wedding relatively sane and unscathed.

I had every confidence in Angela's plan. Her plans always worked. However, the thought of being in a closed room with a blood-sucking undead being and trying to blackmail him did make me feel more than a bit nervous.

I drummed my fingers against a desk. Why couldn't I just nut up and tell my family that no, I did not have a boyfriend and there was little to no chance I'd be married by the time I'm 20? Life would be so much easier. I was a hundred percent sure that somewhere, somehow, somebody would find out about this stupid show we were putting up and what then? Oh look, the family pariah! Did you hear what she tried to do? As if _Ella_ could ever get a good boyfriend.

I didn't even really want to use a Cullen. They were so weird, and you know, supernatural beings that could snap me in half like a twig. It made me uncomfortable to think that if something went wrong I'd be unable to protect myself in any way. I didn't know these people despite the fact that I had been stalking them for a while now. How was I supposed to know they weren't sociopathic rapists/murderers that liked to cut up little teenaged girls?

The door opened and Dr. Cullen stepped inside. My eyes followed his form involuntarily. I've gotten more or less used to the stunning beauty of the 'children' of the family, but I didn't have a reason to see Dr. Cullen often and daaaamn... If only he wasn't married.

He was tall. Tall and muscular and chiseled like a Greek God. A smooth-shaven Greek God. I could momentarily picture Ariel's face if I stepped inside the wedding venue with Dr. Cullen as my arm candy. Unfortunately that bitch was throughout enough to go snooping and she'd most definitely find the marriage registeration of Carlisle and Esme Cullen. That would be a doozy to explain.

"Good afternoon, Ms. Johnson. How can I help you today?"

Hot damn his voice was sexy too. I could only hope my intended target had even a smidge of that sex appeal. I have never actually spoken to him, so I have no idea what he sounds like or how he talks. He isn't very vocal in the cafeteria. None of them are.

I clenched a notebook in my hands. I had taken one of my many with me to get this show started. Angela had copied all of them to her computer and she had emailed to her distant cousin living in France an encrypted file holding my notes. Both of them had clear instructions what to do with them if I never made it back home.

"Okay, this is going to sound really weird and fucked up, but I'm here today to blackmail you, Dr. Cullen." I said, trying desperately reign in the anxiousness I was feeling. This was a bad idea, I just knew it. I would be skinned alive. My body would never be found...

"I'm sorry?"

He kept smiling politely. Well, I guess I wouldn't be too worried about some puny little human teenager blackmailing me if I was an immortal demon-thing. I took a deep breath and handed him the notebook.

"Just so you know, I have made copies..." I tried to sound cocky. From his amused smile, I figured I wasn't that convincing.

I watched him as he leafed through the notebook. It was one of my firsts and filled with general observations. I had more detailed notes back home as well as my theories of their special abilies. Some websites claimed that there were vampires with special abilites.

To his credit, his composure never shifted. His golden brows never furrowed and his perfectly straight nose never as much as twitched. He calmly gave me the notebook back once he was done with it. He smiled again.

"I knew I should've taught them better. It's a marvel that no one has figured it out before you."

Huh... that was not what I was expecting. I honestly thought he would either kill me immediately or try to convince me that I was crazy. I had prepared solid arguments against both cases. I didn't expect him to just accept that I knew.

"So, what is it that you want, Ms. Johnson?" He asked, crossing his arms casually and leaning back on his chair. I leaned slightly forward and fought to keep my face from turning into five different shades of red. This was getting embarrassing.

"I need a date for my cousin's wedding. Don't ask me why, I just do."

"So you came to me? I'm very sorry, but I am a married man..."

I actually grinned a little at that. Didn't I know it?

"Not you, Dr. Cullen. That whole marriage thing kind of screws up the forbidden romance between a teenager and a world-class surgeon. No, I mean one of your sons."

He didn't look surprised by that. In fact, he was strangely calm for someone who was being blackmailed. Fuck, this couldn't end well for me. He clearly had a plan. To what end, that remains to be seen.

"Ah. That makes much more sense. So, you wish to date one of my sons in exchange of keeping quiet about our secret?"

Okay, it sounded like really pathetic when someone said it out loud like that. Way out of context and with a heavy splash of mocking thrown into the mix. Fuck me. I thought Dr. Cullen was supposed to be the kind, caring one. The man was clearly fucked up.

"Don't put it like that. It's just a date for a wedding. Four days, then we'll all forget about each other." I said. This was getting more uncomfortable by the minute.

"Sure, that sounds reasonable. Now, which one of my boys did you have in mind?"

"Okay, what the hell, man? Are you saying you're totally fine with this?" I couldn't help but to screech out. And yeah, I'm not exaggerating. I was screeching. I think half of the hospital heard me loud and clear.

Dr. Cullen actually laughed at that. And damn was his laughter doing strange, wonderful things to my body. I guess Angela was fucking spot on when she theorised that vampires just naturally oozed out sex appeal. If I didn't know what he was I might've dropped my pants and bent over just like that. I was reeeally tempted to do that anyway. We might have to work on our strategy...

"Believe it or not, Ms Johnson, but I am quite good at reading people. You do not strike me as a bad person. I think this experience could be very helpful to my children. I have tried very hard to coax them into interacting with humans, but they have been very resistant to the idea. You might just be what the doctor ordered, so to speak."

I let out the breath I didn't even realize I was holding. Dear God I was scared he'd just eat me up and pick his teeth with my bones.

"Now, who did you have in mind, Ms Johnson? Edward?"

I actually shivered in mild disgust at the suggestion. That creep hadn't even crossed my mind. I had a fair share of theories about Edward Cullen, none of which I wanted to explore by getting to know him better. Plus, Angela would have shut that shit down immediately. I trusted her judgement over everyone else's, including my own.

"Oh god no. No offence, but he creeps everyone out." The words were out of my mouth before I had the chance to filter them. I gasped and looked at Dr Cullen, horrified.

His politely smiling poker face cracked just the tiniest bit. A confused frown wrinkled his smooth forehead for just a second before everything went back to normal. Did the guy really not see how creepy Edward was? I guess love really is blind. Or maybe they all were even creepier and just better had hiding it. That would suck, big time.

"Then who-"

"Jasper Hale."

Hah! Guess who just managed to stump a vampire! I'll never forget the look on his face. His jaw actually dropped, like in a fucking cartoon! There was nothing I could do to stop the snort from seeing the light of day. Or the giggling fit that came after it.

I was a giggling mess, trying to gasp for air and remain seated in my chair. It was so inappropriate and fucking stupid, but I couldn't help myself. I had a feeling that not many humans could boast about getting that kind of reaction from the famous Dr. Carlisle Cullen.

"But... why Jasper? He's not very good with... people."

I fought to get myself back in check. This was supposed to be a blackmailing session, not a pleasant lunch date with a family friend. I cleared my throat and fanned my no doubt very unattractively red face. I really hoped I hadn't blown a snot bubble or something like that.

"Well, process of elimination, basically. I can't take you, Edward creeps me out and I have a feeling Rosalie would maim me to death if I ever even looked at Emmett for too long. I think Alice could be reasoned with. She's your favourite daughter, right?"

"How could you possibly know that?"

Ah, finally this conversation was going my way. Psh, and mom thought I'd never be anything but a moderately pretty face. She should see me now. Taking vampires by surprise. I'd like to see Ariel try that. Fucking Ariel... God I hate her.

Is it wrong to hate your own blood that much? Well, I'm not even a 100 % sure we share the same blood. The lines were always kind of blurred when it came to who was considered family. We have a common ancestor so we are related. End of story. Anyways, was it wrong? Fuck if I care.

"Eh, I just notice things." I said, shrugging my shoulders. I had no intention of revealing just how stalker-ish I was. It wasn't like I stalked their house or anything. I just had a bestie who was really smart and could put together little clues that I noticed just by looking at the Cullens during school days.

We spent the next twenty minutes making a verbal contract. Angela said Dr. Cullen was a man of his word so I trusted him to keep his end of the bargain. In any case, I'd find out Friday afternoon. Dr Cullen promised to send Jasper over then.

I really hoped this whole thing didn't end up biting me in the ass.

000

"Oh my God! Mom! Get out!" I screamed, fed up with my mom fussing around the house and around me. Like really, just how impressive-looking did I need to be? This was a business transaction, not a hot date. She seemed to gloss over the faking part of our agreement when she found out I was taking a Cullen as my date. Well, he was Hale, but we all called them collectively as Cullens.

I had to skip my last class just so my mom could get me all glammed up before Jasper was supposed to arrive. I swear, I've never seen her so damn hyped up. Not even when Brody told her that he had proposed to Faye. Dad even confirmed that she hadn't been that excited on her own wedding day.

Mom was fixing my perfectly corkscrew-curled hair. She saw some imaginary smudginess on it or something like that. She had forced me to break out the white denim mini skirt and the form-licking, light blue cashmere sweater. Apparently it made my eyes glow softly and it complimented my 'beautiful copper locks'. That damn woman was out of control.

I'm the first to admit that I'm obsessed with looking good, but fuck! Enough is enough. My goal wasn't to trick Jasper into my bed and get pregnant with his baby. Could he even make a baby? Was his sperm like dead? Or did it live forever like the rest of him?

Do vampires poop? What happens to all the blood the consume? Does it just disappear? So many questions. And none of the answers made me think it would be fine to hook up with a vampire. Nothing good could come out of it. Plus, I had to coexist in the same school as him after this whole fiasco was over. I'd rather not make him think I was just desperate to get a Cullen as my boyfriend.

I had to forcibly shove my mom out of the house after she tried to attack me with a bottle of perfume. I accepted a lot of the shit that mom threw at me, but I've always drawn the line with perfume. Those things give me a head ache like it's no-one's business.

I was sensitive to strong scents. We couldn't even have scented candles in the house without me getting nauseous and possibly break out in hives. It was also one of the reasons I didn't hang out around Lauren more often. The girl was nice and all, as far as 'mean girls' went, but damn that girl bathed herself in perfumes and scented oils. She did make an excellent workout partner, though.

I threw myself to the couch, basking in the glorious silence that surrounded me. It seemed like forever since I last got to be alone at the house. Mom was always lurking around the corner, eager to hit me with something she thought would 'improve' me. It was enough to give a girl a complex or two.

If it wasn't mom, it was Brody and Faye enjoying their disgusting youth. I swear, I had more inside knowledge of my brother's sex life that I EVER wanted to know. Ew. Would it really be so fucking hard to go to Faye's place? It's not like her parents were ever even home.

Then there was my dad. Roger Johnson and his silent judgement. It rang in my ears louder than my mom's loudest screams. You'd think he'd be the less fanatic one, as he was the one who married into this fucked up family, but oh no. Dad's life's work seemed to revolve around perching himself (and the rest of our family) higher on the family hierarchy. He was the catholic priest to my mom's semi-devout believer.

Was it troubling that I spent the majority of my time whining and complaining about my family? Did we really have a loving relationship if all we did was criticize each other? I don't remember when was the last time we just hung out together like a proper, normal family. Maybe when I was five and boyfriends/girlfriends were the farthest from any of our minds. The mind works in mysterious ways.

My musings were cut short when the doorbell rang. Okay, I'm not proud of myself... I panicked. I might've peed a little. Can you blame me? Out of all of the Cullens, the Hale twins were the scariest to me. I honestly didn't think for a second they would've not killed me if Dr. Cullen hadn't ordered them to play nice.

According to the fountain of knowledge that is the Internet, all vampire groups (or Covens) had a leader. Even I, with my limited brain capacity, realized that the Cullen leader was Dr. Cullen. At least for now. Angela seemed to think Jasper wouldn't be sticking around for very much longer.

It would make sense. I don't claim to know or understand the family dynamics inside their house, but I always had the feeling that Jasper was the odd one out. Like he was a foster child in a cluster of adopted or biological children. There was something about him that made him stood out for me. Maybe that's why I picked him. He's the one I accidentally spend the most time 'researching'.

My palms were sweaty as I opened the door. If I hadn't been preparing myself mentally, I would've swooned and turned into a goo at the sight of him.

He was tall. I have a thing for tall. He looked absolutely huge from where I was standing. I didn't even reach his shoulders. His wide, beautiful shoulders. Damn, I would have my hands full with trying to keep the male-oriented relatives away from him. Eric suddenly looked like a lot more appealing date. I could blend into nothingness with Eric. Jasper would not be doing any blending in. Oh no.

"Err... Hi. Come one in." I said awkwardly, trying very hard not to turn into a drooling idiot. Or more accurately, trying not to show that side of me to him. That would most certainly make him uncomfortable.

I stepped aside to let him walk past me. He did not look happy to be here. I wanted to disappear into a hole. Of course he wouldn't merrily volunteer for this. Ugh. I just knew this would end terribly.

* * *

Author's Final Notes:

Wee! It's the second chapter! I'm very happy and kind of terrified that people are reading this and enjoying it enough to continue following my story.

I don't know what else to say... thank you...? I hope you'll be entertained by my brainfart of a story!


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: The Planning Session Gone Wrong**

* * *

I honestly didn't think this would be so awkward. I mean, I knew there was bound to be SOME awkwardness when discussing how two complete strangers can fool relationship-experts to think they are in love. This was waaaay beyond that.

I didn't even know how to begin this conversation. Jasper was sitting straight as a board on the armchair of shame. Not even on the couch like I had offered. Oh no, he chose my novelty seat. He was watching me like I was a smear of dog shit on the bottom of his stylish, Italian boots. I think it was safe to say I did not impress him.

I regretted not wearing jeans. Or a skirt with a longer hem. Damn you mother.

I had a stack of notebooks piled neatly on my lap. Three of them were about my detailed interrogation of mom so I could see just what kind of garbage her pretty mouth has been spewing. I thanked my lucky stars mom had refrained from using an actual name. That would have been a doozy to try and explain when I introduced Jasper to my relatives.

I also had two empty notebooks that I was planning on filling with information that Jasper provided. Angela had cautioned me to steer clear of too many _personal_ personal questions, but I did need to know superficial things that a girlfriend would know.

But how to begin this farce? Jasper certainly wasn't making the first move. He wasn't encouraging me to start talking either. Unless that grumpy, cold glare was the vampire way of making friends. Doubtful.

I cleared my throat. The easiest way must be just getting right to it. Like ripping off a bandaid. Momentary pain that would soon be forgotten. That was my main goal. Four days' worth of pain and then we would never speak of this again. God, I wished he would never bring this up again. I was feeling pathetic enough without snarky reminders, thank you very much.

"So... Let's start with what my mom has made up to my relatives about you, okay?" God, could this get any more awkward? Where was Jessica when you needed her? That girl had an amazing knack for diffusing tension.

Jasper grunted. Actually, honest to God, grunted. He sounded like he was trying to squeeze poop out. So much for the sexy, alluring presence he had going on for him. Damn, why did Dr. Cullen have to be married?

"Okay, don't make that sound at the wedding. It's so unattractive." I blurted out. What can I say? Image is everything. Jasper Hale and his attitude problem would not screw this thing up.

He did seem mildly surprised. I guess that's understandable. I was acting like a scared little mousey who was just waiting for someone to scold her. Or maybe this was his brilliant plan to get me more comfortable? I think it's widely known in the school that I'm easily riled up and don't hold back when that happens.

Then again, in what world would the sacred Cullens take part in school gossip? He was just genuinely fucking surprised that I would say something to him. Fuck him and his perfectly messy blonde hair that looked so damn tempting that I wanted to bury my hands in it.

I took a deep breath and relaxed my face. Frowning aged the skin prematurely. Not pretty.

"My mom has been kind enough to give only vague hints about my supposed boyfriend. She's said that you are a little bit older than me. You're a Junior and I'm a Sophomore so that fits. She also said that you have brown hair, but we can just say that you dyed your hair once just to try it out."

"Why didn't you just pick a brown-haired guy?"

My eyes narrowed. That asshole was mocking me. He was supposed to be the nice, safe Cullen! I'll be damned if Creepward is the polite one.

"Because your daddy said I could use you. If you have a problem with that, go bitch about it to him, you dickhead."

"Isn't that sort of foul language uncalled for?"

I rolled my eyes. I was convinced that he was trying to make this as bad as possible. It was probably some nefarious plot to make me drop him as a date-choice. Why else would he go out on his way to be a complete asshat? I would assume that Dr. Cullen had gotten him to agree to this fucking shitshow so if there was anything uncalled for here, it was his fucking attitude.

He was fidgeting like he was a string that was wound a little too tight and ready to snap. He didn't even look at me. No fucking manners whatsoever. As if I would be doing any of this unless I had no other choice. Like, excuse me but my life's goal was not to fuck Jasper Hale! Not that I would be opposed to it... you know, if he wasn't an undead killing machine and in a relationship...

"I would love to speak nicely so your pretty little ears don't get contaminated, but your attitude problem makes it fucking impossible to be polite. Grow a fucking pair and stop acting like a baby!"

Note to yourself, don't piss off vampires. They do not take it kindly. Well, unless his ice cold hand squeezing my throat was his idea of joking around. Maybe that animalistic, inhuman growl was just his way of purring nicely.

I was gasping for air, stupidly only thinking that choking was one of the ugliest ways to die. Couldn't he smother me with a pillow instead? I didn't want ugly marks on my skin and my eyes popping out of my head.

You'd think I would feel more about dying. Like, panic or despair or sadness or something. Where was my fucking life flashing through my eyes and all the other corny bullshit I was supposed to be experiencing?! All I could feel was my throat caving in on me and my lungs burning from the lack of oxygen. All I could think about was my ugly-ass bruised body that someone would find. Was I even wearing matching underwear?

Oh my fucking God, I was going to die wearing grey cotton panties and a turquoise satin bra. There was no universe where someone might think that combination was carefully thought out one!

I was starting to see black spots when Jasper suddenly gasped and dropped me to the floor like I was trash. It hurt to breath and I could only make these pathetic wheezing sounds. I'm pretty sure I was drooling and my mascara was dripping down my cheeks with my involuntary tears.

I looked up at him, scared of what I might find. He looked absolutely horrified. I didn't know it was even possible for vampires to be even paler than they were naturally, but he definitely looked like he was seconds away from passing out. Serves that asshole right.

"I'm so sorry!" He said, his eyes flitting across my body in panic.

I was getting angry, shock setting in. HE had no right to be panicky and scared. No fucking right. That was all reserved for me. God, it would take a ton of makeup to cover up the finger-shaped red spots that would no doubt turn soon into ugly purple ones.

"What the FUCK is your problem?!" I tried to scream at him, but the only sound coming from my mouth was this pathetic wheezing rasp. It didn't really convey the fury welling inside of me.

Nobody ever accused me of having my priorities straight. Here I was, majorly pissed at a deadly creature who had JUST tried to kill me. It didn't even occur to me that maybe, just maybe, I should run the fuck out of the house and call for help. Oh no, I was too busy being angry to remember just how easily he could snap my spine.

"You fucking agreed to this, asshole! You do NOT get to put your hands on me!"

Okay, so my voice was getting awfully shrilly. That's never a good thing. My friends say that when I get really angry only dogs can hear me because I'm shrieking in such a high pitch.

Jasper shrunk into himself, taking a couple of steps back. I pushed myself up and stormed angrily right in front of him and buried my index finger into his chest. Not literally, since he's made of diamonds or something.

My eyes were practically trying to set him on fire as I jabbed my finger into his chest over and over again, calling him whatever names came to my mind. Angela had always praised my vocabulary so I was at it for a while.

"...you motherfucker, I should grab a broom and shove it right up your..."

He didn't try to stop me. It looked like he had completely forgotten about what had made him mad in the first place. He just looked ashamed and let me tear him a new one verbally. It was only right. Ella Johnson was nobody's bitch! Well, except her mother's.

"...and to top it all off, I'll carve out that slimy dick cheese and I'll fucking feed it to you! THEN we are fucking even!"

"I'm so sorry... Please, let me help you?"

I was about to shriek straight to his face just where he could shove his help, when a sound of reason woke up in my mind and started whispering me things. Like how I needed a handsome fake-date if I didn't want to deal with Ariel and the rest. And how I could milk this incident for all it was worth. Funny how that voice in my head sounded just like Angela.

I took a few calming breaths, working my pea-sized brains as hard as possible. How to maximize the benefits of having a Cullen feel indebted to me? My mind wandered to the obvious, force him to continue dating me for as long as I needed a fake boyfriend. Well, that wasn't in the cards for me. I didn't want to deal with this jackass any longer than necessary. And sticking close to him would no doubt bring more close-calls with death. So not what I was looking for in my relationship.

Then I remembered that the Cullens dominated the test scores in any class they were in. Angela couldn't stop grumbling about how unfair it was for the undead to take exams with the mortal folk. She was salty that she had to fight to death for her spot as the smartest smarty-pants around.

The exam season was just around the corner. That was something I wasn't looking forward to. I foresaw a future of failed exams and summer school for me. Unless I had a little helper... I bit my lip, working out the pros and cons. Pro, I could score well enough to actually spend my summer out of school. Con, I'd have to spend time with the jerkface.

I mulled over it in silence, letting my anger cool down enough so I could talk without shrieking my lungs out. Was the extra free time worth hanging around this psycho? It would mean days at First Beach and nights at whoever had their houses to themselves. No reading in a stuffy classroom, no cramming late into the night until my tiny brain hurt and my eyes were crossed from exhaustion. Just me and my friends, living it up and being completely irresponsible shitheads for the entire summer.

I looked at him, trying to get a good read on him. He was staring at me. His dark eyes were wide with panic and his extended hands were shaking uncontrollably. He looked like he was about to vomit and in that moment, he looked so fucking convincing that I felt relatively safe from further harm.

I was fucking insane. There, I said it. Desperate and insane. This shit was definitely going to kill me...

"Okay. New deal. You'll be my fake-boyfriend for the wedding AND you'll do all of my homework the rest of the year and tutor me so I'll pass my exams. Agreed?"

Fuck, I really hoped I wasn't signing my death sentence. I based all of this on the fact that he looked really ashamed and sorry. Of course, there was the possibility that he was a sadistic murderer who liked to toy with his food and this was all just an act. You really can never know with these things.

He threw me a look that made my heart make a complete 180 and squeal with cuteness overload. He looked so hopeful and relieved that I almost couldn't handle it. It was like I was suddenly surrounded by wee little puppies just begging for my affections. Or like my favourite couple in my favourite TV-show finally ended up together.

I stomped down the actual squeal that tried to escape from my abused throat. I forbid myself from being affected by his cuteness or his good looks. Jasper Hale was off-limits. I wasn't going to start pining over a violent guy. Fuck that. I refused. Why did vampires have to be so fucking sexy and irresistable?!

I slumped back down to the couch and rubbed my sore throat. I needed to get this meeting done so I could start treating my injuries. I wasn't about to show weakness in front of Jasper.

"I'll do anything. I'm so sorry... are you alright? Do you need a doctor? I can drive you to a hospital or to Carlisle or-"

I stopped him by raising my hand up. I couldn't deal with nearly dying right now. There was a battle plan to be made.

"I don't want your apologies right now. We need to focus on this shit. The wedding is next week and we need to be prepared."

Jasper looked at me. I guess he was trying to figure out what kind of crazy person would still insist on going through the boyfriend scam after getting their throat squeezed by a vampire. Well, you're looking at her, mister. Ariel was not going to win this fucking thing. Hell no!

He remained quiet for a good while and then he sat down back into the arm chair with a deep sigh. Fucking show-off. I couldn't get a decent breath in and he was there just sighing away. It was so unfair and he would pay dearly.

"Okay... I'll apologize again at a later time. What else did your mother say?"

Oh, so NOW he's willing to make an effort. Wow, guilt did wonders for vampires with bad attitude. Well, that should make things easier. I took a hold of my discarded notebook and cleared my throat. I was doing my very best to keep the residual anger out of my voice. I needed him. It says something about how horrible the whole wedding situation was when I was willing to cozy up to a murderous vampire rather than admit that I was dateless and mom had lied.

"Apparently, you're allergic to shrimp. And you really like history."

I wondered where the hell my mom pulled these 'facts' from. She had been really vague about things like looks and family and names, but damn she had invented a colourful backstory to my imaginary boyfriend. Harlequin writers should take pointers from her.

"That's not so far from the truth." Jasper said. I noticed that he too was keeping his voice neutral. We were both very business-like. Yay. Good for us.

"Well, that's good. You are also supposed to be a real gentleman who lavishes compliments to older women. Things like 'Oh, you must be Ella's older sister!' and such. This is so fucking stupid..."

And it was. Mom had clearly poured out her wet day-dream on paper or something. I scanned through the character profile and crossed over as many notes as I dared. Anything that could be explained by mother's bias was scrapped. Angela had adviced me to keep the lie as close to the truth as possible. That was a solid advice.

"I can do that. What else?"

We went over my mom's take on my fake boyfriend and trimmed it down considerably. Jasper actually had solid ideas on what to change and what to burn in a fiery pit. Little by little the atmosphere turned from the tightly held-on neutrality to more a more relaxed one.

I tossed the final notebook to the coffee table and picked up a new, unused one. This was where I wanted to gather information on Jasper so I could study it later on. I had also prepared one that held general information about me. Things that my relatives would assume my boyfriend would know.

"Okay, so now I need to know who you are. You can just tell me anything that you're comfortable sharing. I need to be able to talk about you even if you're somewhere else." I said carefully, fully expecting another hissy fit. I just hoped he'd leave my poor throat alone. It was bruised enough already. It would be a miracle if they managed to fade away before the wedding.

Thank God it looked like Jasper had warmed up to our deal since he didn't look bothered at all. Or maybe he was just biding his time, collecting his anger so next time his pesky conscience wouldn't get in the way of his murderous fun. You never know.

"What kind of things?" He asked, all polite and gentlemanly. It was a huge improvement over the grunting and sulking. He looked hot again. Of course it would have been better for my hormones if he kept his sex appeal at the minimum, but I guessed I had to get used to it anyhow. I couldn't very well be a drooling idiot around my relatives.

Mom had strongly hinted that I was sleeping over at my boyfriend's house ever so often, so obviously I couldn't look like I was desperate for some action.

"Umm... Like, what's your favourite band? Or music genre in general? How about movies and TV-shows? Who's your best friend? Do you have any hobbies? Do you get along with your entire family? Things like that."

I hold my pen at the ready. It was a sparkly mint green one with a mint green fluff at the top. It was my current favourite after I had to throw my sparkling purple one away. The ink was boring black though. I had stopped using gel-pens after I got so sick of them running out right when you need them the most.

"Well, classic old-school rock is the closest to my heart. The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Rolling Stones and the like. I watch mostly horror movies. I like to laugh how they portray monsters. I don't really watch TV all that much, but I do follow Baseball and Football occasionally."

I wrote down what he said, arranging it all to neat columns and mind-maps. If there was something I was really good at it was taking notes. My room was a testament to that. I had currently 658 notebooks stored all around my room. I started writing things down when I was 8 and school first started to overwhelm me. And yes, I did have a collection of reference notebooks so I could find whatever notebook I was looking.

It's relaxing. Don't judge me.

"I play baseball with my family and my best friend is a man named Peter. He lives in Texas at the moment with his wife Charlotte."

"Oh good. We're planning a roadtrip to go and visit them during summer." I interrupted, not even bothering to look up. It was note-taking time and I was in the zone.

"We are?" He asked. His tone of voice gave me a mental picture of his confused face. I made an affirmative humming noise.

"Yeah. A loving couple needs to have summer plans. Continue, please."

"I guess you could say I'm relatively close to the Cullens. It's not really a father-son relationship I have with Carlisle, but we get along well enough. Rosalie is quite like what I imagine having a sister would've been like..."

Huh. I didn't think he would go into the family dynamics. Wait...

"So Rosalie is not your actual sister? I thought she's your twin." I had to ask. How did we miss it? I mean, the story of Esme Cullen being their aunt and adopting them when they were kids was a far-fetched one, but we had somehow always assumed that Jasper and Rosalie really were twins.

Well fuck. The more you know. I couldn't wait to share this with Angela. I wasn't going to tell her Jasper's life story, since it wasn't mine to tell and some things were private, but this needed to be told. Angela wanted to know everything that was relevant to the Cullens now that I had to deal with them.

She's so adorable when she gets all fierce and protective. God I love that girl.

"Oh no. I've only known Rosalie for about 60 years. I'm quite a bit older than she is. Carlisle figured that us being siblings would make people more inclined to think that a married couple as young as them would adopt five teenagers."

Hello juicy details. I was getting some useful info without having to ask for it. Angela had suspected that Jasper was super old, but she couldn't really give anything other than a rough estimate. Apparently it was something about his eyes and how he carried himself.

"So wait, how old are you? No wait, you don't have to answer that if you don't want to. But when is your earthly birthday? Like, the one in your no doubt fake I.D? And speaking of fake I.D's, could you hook me up with one?"

What? It never hurt to ask! I didn't want to grovel to Brody every time I wanted to get wasted.

Jasper gave this beautiful, wistful smile to me and crossed his long, beautiful legs. How the fuck could something so simple be so fucking alluring? I kind of wanted to drop my skirt and sit on his lap. And this was the creature that just tried to murder me 10 minutes ago.

Fucking hell, this was so messed up. I was messed up. Fucking sexy vampires and their allure.

"I'm turning 163 years old later in the summer. I'm actually the second oldest of the Cullen clan, right after Carlisle. Jasper Hale on the other hand turns 18 years old on 5th of January. And what would you do with a fake I.D?"

Fuck he was old. Why did I find that so appealing? Did I have a fetish? I mean, I had a fuck-ton of daddy issues. I should probably start going to therapy again...

"No reason. For... research. Yeah, let's go with research..."

He laughed at that. It sounded like fucking angels singing. I was pretty sure that a healthy litter of puppies were born to this world as a result of his laughter.

"Right... so, pet peeves? Future goals?" I asked, cursing my red cheeks and damp panties. Jasper Hale was going to be the death of me.

It took less than an hour for both of my notebooks to get filled completely. I dropped my pen and flexed my hand. It was cramping. Nothing new. I had cramps usually every day and a carpal tunnel every other week. I happened to have a cute collection of wrist supports, so it was all good.

Jessica often asked why I didn't start taking notes with a computer when I was at home. It was a decent idea, considering that I did most of my note-taking while in my room, but I liked writing it all down old-fashionedly. It made me feel good and prepared. Besides, who is to say my computer wouldn't explode or something? What would happen to all of my hard work then? No, I stuck with good old pens and paper. Here's to hoping there's no fire in my future.

"You okay?" Jasper asked, noticing my hand movements.

"Yeah, just fine. It happens all the time." I said. I was very used to that question.

"You seem to really like taking notes..."

I grinned. My, what keen eyes he had. Okay, that's a little mean. I couldn't expect everyone to assume that someone like me would enjoy in something so... unusual.

I glanced at the clock that could be seen from the kitchen. We had an open-floor planning downstairs. Kitchen, dining room and living room were all connected. Mom liked to be able to talk to her guests while she was slaving in the kitchen. Our ceiling still had faint marks from where the walls used to be. Mom had been nagging dad to fix it for years.

It was almost five already. Huh. Time sure flies when you're having fun. Or when you are being strangled by a vampire. In any case, I was glad that we had managed to outline our battle plan for the wedding. There was only one thing left to do.

I felt reeeally uncomfortable. I mean, how does one bring up this kind of subject? He had a girlfriend. Maybe Alice should've been present for this. Or maybe that would've been even more awkward.

"Then there's the problem of... oh fuck, this is so embarrassing..." I mumbled, my face heating up. If I had a mirror I would probably been horrified by the glowing red that was taking over my white pigment. My ears were burning, for fuck's sake!

Jasper raised one of his perfectly trimmed dark eyebrows. I quickly looked away. This was not the time to be swooning over his good looks. Fuck. Could I still cancel the whole thing?

"What problem?"

Ugh! Where was the grumpy, non-participating Jasper when I needed one? This would've been so much easier if he had been ignoring me.

"Uh... about the... Fuck... Ehm... How _close_... are you comfortable... being with me?"

I actually managed to make the words to come out. Yay for me! Now if only I wasn't blushing like a 12 year old hearing the word 'kiss' in context with boys. That would've been great. No such luck though. At least Jasper was being a gentleman about it. Eric and Mike would've started the snicker fest already.

"Oh that. Alice has given me a free reign. She has opted to think of it like a stage play. I agree with her. So it really is up to your comfort level and what you deem is necessary to sell our act."

I wanted to scream. And not in the 'OHMYGOD I can totes make out with a hot guy' kind of way. Whatever I said next would sound desperate and lusty as fuck. He was even looking at me like he was expecting me to take this as a permission to drape myself all over him. Like making out with him was my life's goal or something.

Don't get me wrong. I would be happy to do all sorts of naughty things with him, even if he was a bloodsucking demon. My teenager hormones made me look at him as the dreamiest of guys. But damn, I had some pride in myself! I did NOT go after guys who were taken. Not a chance.

I cleared my throat and took a moment to compose myself. I thought I had done enough embarrassing myself for one day. I want to say that I was cool as a cucumber and got all of this handled professionally. But oh no. No, my face was burning so much that I was convinced you could cook an egg on it.

"So... uh, maybe we should just try and see what feels right in the moment? I mean, we have to be affectionate, but not all over each other all the time..."

It was nearly impossible to get through that sentence without making a complete fool out of myself. I was trying hard to make myself appear not a total dork. I don't think I was doing such a good job, but Jasper didn't seem to notice. Or care. He really was stepping up for this whole redemption gig.

I wondered how long I could possibly milk his guilt for all it was worth. I could have a vampire slave. Bound by his guilt to do my bidding. Fuck, I was half-tempted to ask him to kill Ariel. But I was too good of a person to do that. Or so I told myself.

It was about time for me to leave for the gym. I needed to wrap this meeting up. I went through my notes to see if I had missed something critical. I did not want to get caught with my pants down at the wedding.

"So, I've prepared a few notes about me for you to study before the wedding. Just your basic information, like my birthday and favorite colour. There's also a brief summary of my family history so you'll be able to act like I've talked about them before." I said and handed him five notebooks.

"That's... very thoughtful. I'll be sure to learn everything there is to know about you, Ella Johnson."

Mmh... I really liked how he said my name. Inappropriate thoughts... I needed to snap out of it. I closed my eyes for a second and gave a huge mental bitch slap to myself. I could fantasize about Jasper Hale and his murderous ways later in the privacy of my own bed.

Right, it was time to focus. We stood up and I escorted him to the door. Ugh, his delicious tallness made my insides all squishy. My throat was throbbing in pain, but my mind refused to register anything else but his hotness. I was going to be in soooo much trouble.

"Well, thanks for stopping by. I'll be sure to give you my homework on Monday so you can start your new job as my personal homework monkey." I said as a goodbye. Real subtle, right?

"Of course. And once again, I am truly sorry for losing control like that. I assure you that it will never happen again and I will do whatever it takes to earn your forgiveness one day."

Did he have to look at me with those beautiful puppy eyes? Oh, the things I wanted to do to that boy... man... undead vampire.

"Oh yeah! I almost forgot. I'm going to wear a teal-coloured dress. You should wear something blue under your suit. It can't be teal though. We can't match, but we can't clash either."

I had decided earlier on that I wanted to wear teal. It worked well with my hair and my freckles. I still had buy the dress, but I was planning to take a trip to Seattle with my friends on Sunday. I had made an appointment with my go-to seamstress. She knew what I was looking and she had promised to prepare a few dresses for me.

"I thought couples were supposed to match?"

I scoffed. Wasn't he supposed to be an immortal? And in a relationship with another immortal, who also happened to be a fashionista? Guys...

"No way. People who try too much wear matching outfits. We are supposed to be happily and securely in love. It would stink like an act if we tried to be some fucking movie couple."

Fuck if I wasn't already hoping the wedding would be over...

* * *

Author's Final Notes:

Look at that! Third chapter and I still haven't run away in panic! Good for me. What do you mean I have 'commitment issues'?

Jasper has entered the stage! And he brought his unstable hissy fits with him! My, what a good fun those are going to be for poor Ella. Good thing she can fight fire with nuclear bombs.

If you are still following this story, thank you so much. It's great fun to write this and it's nice to know that a handful of people seem to be enjoying it. I hope you'll join me for the next chapter as well, which should be out either later this weekend or early next week. Have a great weekend, you guys!


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: Preparations and Creepy Vampires**

* * *

I took a controlled sip of my green smoothie while I was patting away the sweat on my forehead with a fluffy towel. My gym session had been brutal. I figured I should try and tighten everything just a smidge so I could look my absolute best at the wedding. That meant a juice cleanse and working my beautifully shaped ass off the next week.

"You are a monster. You really are." Lauren complained, her breathing a bit wheezy. I grinned, exhausted beyond measure. It was an euphoric feeling.

Lauren was the only one out of my friend group that could keep up with me at the gym, so she was the only one who bothered to go with me. She only did it about three times a week though. Apparently, she liked having a social life. Go figure.

Her usually pale skin was really red and her beautiful, silky hair was just as messy as mine was. We were a sight to see, no doubt. The only reason I wasn't bright red was the copious amount of foundation and concealer I had on, thanks to Jasper's murderous ways. However, I was pretty sure I was sweating right through my leggings into the chair I was sitting in, so it was hard to decide which one of us was the grosser one. The next person to sit in that chair was in for a wet surprise...

"Sorry, babe."

"You don't sound very sorry, you know."

My muscles felt like they were made of acid. I didn't want to move from the mushy, uncomfortable chair I had flopped myself into. I mentally checked the list of people I knew who had a car to figure out who I could bum a ride from. Lauren was out since we had walked to the gym together. Tyler was currently working at Mike's, along with Mike.

Jessica and Angela were hanging with Eric, Ben and Karen at the First Beach so they all were out. Even Angela wouldn't be bothered to drive all the way to the gym and drop me off at home in the middle of a Spring-Surf party.

Sarah was visiting her grandma with her big brother Michael. Brody was probably busy trying to impregnate Faye, so they wouldn't come even if I called. Mom was out with her friends and dad was watching the game. I had no idea what sport he was watching. He had just informed that he was going to his friend's house to 'watch the game'.

It seemed like everyone had something to do, except for me. Mom expected me to make extra effort so I could finally fool someone long enough to get them to marry me. That meant I was pretty much the only teenager in Forks AND La Push who did not have anything planned for Friday night.

"Hey, did your sister return from Seattle already?" I asked Lauren, hoping against hope that a person with a car was available to take us away. I wasn't confident that I could move my legs all the way home. Not after making the tragic mistake of sitting down.

"I wish! She decided to not come home this weekend. Something about a cute guy."

"Figures. Are we really doomed to walk home?"

Lauren looked horrified at the idea. I was in the same boat with her. Note to self, never again train for three hours straight with maximum power. My body fucking hurt. I slurped down the rest of my smoothie and slumped on the table. A kingdom for a car.

"You two ladies look positively exhausted."

An unpleasant shiver ran through my spine. I knew who it was without even lifting my head up to look at him. Fucking Creepward.

Lauren started fussing with her hair and going all googly-eyed. Honest to God, I didn't get it. I was really familiar with this phenomenon and I just didn't understand what the fuck made Creepward so sexy to other girls.

I understood the overpowering sex-appeal that the Cullens had. Fuck, I would have been ready to roll in the hay with Rosalie any day of the week. And to my knowledge, I didn't swing that way. But Creepward... Ugh... He had absolutely zero sex appeal in my eyes.

I had a nagging suspicion as to why he had decided that this was the perfect moment to start getting to know the girls at his school. I was 70% sure that he was a mind reader or something like that. He was here to dig up dirt on me. I guess I hadn't been interesting enough to held the sacred attention of the school's very own peeping tom.

Good thing I had just the thing prepared. Angela had long ago made a fool-proof plan to keep Creepward from invading our thoughts. I looked at him straight in his obnoxiously beautiful and creepy face and conjured up an image of him standing next to a bed coyly, wearing nothing but a long t-shirt with the words 'Daddy's Good Boy' on it.

His eyebrows twitched and I caught the quick side-glance he bestowed upon me. He was facing Lauren and tried to pretend like he was having a conversation with her while no doubt reading my fucking mind. Well, if he wanted to see my thought so badly...

I pictured Creepward giving the most girlish giggle imaginable as he extended his hand towards a person who was walking predatorily towards him. The mysterious figure stepped into the light and it was no other than Dr. Cullen, there to have some 'special' bonding time with his favorite son.

 _I've been such a good boy, daddy! Can I get a treat now?_

I started off slow, imagining the most sickening act of foreplay I could come up with. Creepward on his knees, 'servicing' his beloved daddy... Dr. Cullen bending him over his knee to discipline his naughty son... Dr. Cullen proceeding to have his wicked way with his son...

I was grinning and my smile turned more sinister with each horrified slip of expression Creepward was showing. He tried to keep up a conversation with Lauren, but he kept looking at me involuntarily. When my thoughts drifted to Emmett joining in, Creepward gave us some lame-ass excuse about being late for dinner and walked very briskly out of the gym's cafeteria.

Fucking served him right. I couldn't believe that those fucking assholes had sent Creepward to read me. No fucking respect whatsoever. Well, revenge was a dish best served cold, or room-temperate and Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. Jasper Hale was going to suffer.

...just as soon as I found the strenght to get up and walk home to plan that revenge.

000

"What's our plan for today?" Jessica asked, glancing quickly to the backseat before returning her eyes to the road ahead. She was our driver for today. Well, she was our driver whenever we went further than La Push. Jessica was scared to be in the car when Karen drove and Angela always drove below the speed limit, making us all go crazy. I was the youngest by nearly a year, so I didn't have a driver's license and I wasn't going to get one when I turned 16. High speeds and my airy brain didn't mix.

We were just five miles away from Seattle. I took out my phone to check the time. We had a bit of a late start to our trip because I had a minor emergency with my make-up. As in, trying to cover the ugly purple bruises that spread throughout the entirety of my neck. It took me two hours to get the finish I wanted.

"Should we go for lunch first? Anyone hungry?" I asked from the backseat passangers.

I had an eternal dibs at the front of the car. I got car-sick and that was not fun for anyone. Karen had learned it the hard way when I had hurled right into her lap when her mom was driving us to a carnival when we were 8.

"I'm not, but it's still smart. That'll leave the entire afternoon for shopping." Angela remarked, lifting her eyes from the thick book she was reading. I was so jealous. I couldn't even read the road signs without starting to feel queasy. I had no idea how Angela managed to do that.

"Sure, but only something light. I don't feel like falling asleep while trying to enjoy the day." Karen put in her two sents. I rolled my eyes.

"When is the last time you saw Ella eat something heavy? We always go to some Vegan place because she can't eat like normal people." Jessica whined.

"Objection! I so eat normally!"

"Yeah right. You must be the only girl on Earth who doesn't eat chocolate." Angela said in her passive-aggressive soft mumble. I turned to glare at her and the smug smile she had. She could be such a bitch.

"Chocolate? The girl doesn't even eat cheese, Ang!" Jessica said with a wide grin. I kind of wanted to punch her, but I didn't want to get into a car accident and ruin my appearance even more. One set of bruises was enough.

"I'm lactose intolerant!" I cried out.

"No you're not!" All three of them yelled back at me.

I huffed and turned my attention to the road. Our parking spot was just minutes away. I was itching to grab my notebook from my bag, but that would have been a baaaaaad idea. I didn't care to vomit on my beautiful new boots.

After we had parked I guided the girls to a salad bar just to fuck with them. It was nothing new that they ribbed me about my eating habits, but friday night with Creepward had put me on edge. Angela had been busy with the party so I hadn't had the chance to vent to someone who knew the situation.

I was so fucking pissed that the Cullens would send _Creepward_ to read my mind. Fucking mind-raper. I would have loved for them to be those vampires from the classics. I could've staked his sparkly ass. That would show him to go around poking in my mind.

"So what's our plan? Ella's dresses first before going all-out or the other way around?" Karen asked, pushing her salad around with her fork. She was bending over her plate so much that her honey blonde hair nearly rested on top of her food. She would get a hunched back one of these days with that bad posture.

"Let's get my dresses last. I don't want to carry them around all day. How about we hit the bookstore first, just to get Ang's boring stuff out of the way? Fredericka's is just next to that." I suggested.

Fredericka's was our favourite clothing store. The owner, Fredericka Swanson, collaborated with my seamstress so the large majority of my clothes were from her shop. She designed all of the clothes herself, but the prices were still affordable for us teenagers.

Of course, I had pretty pretty hefty credit, thanks to my well-off parents. I had $350 to spend for this trip, not including the money for my two custom dresses. Mom had paid for them beforehand. Still, Fredericka's fit my friends' price range too, so it was all good.

Actually, most of the girls I knew bought Fredericka's stuff. We all drove to Seattle often enough, since Forks had literally nothing in terms of shops and Port Angeles was pretty crappy as well. It had some great cafes though. There was something special about Fredericka's that spoke to the kids of Forks High. And the quality was much better than anything bought from Hot Topic.

"I resent the fact that you think bookstores are boring." Angela chimed in, pushing her glasses upwards in the most pretentious way. I laughed. She knew how to play the part of a hipster nerd to perfection.

"Don't take it personally, babe. She is just mad because her tiny brain doesn't comprehend all those big words." Jessica quipped. Hardy-ha. It looked like I had drawn the short straw on who was being bullied today. Those bitches will live to regret this day. My revenge will be swift and destructive.

"It's a good thing Ella's such a cutie." Angela nodded along.

"Yeah, well someone has to be the looker in this sorry bunch. Don't be hating just because I'm hotter than the three of you put together."

We paid for our lunch and stepped outside into that sweet, murky gray spring day. I shivered as a slightly stronger breeze hit me and pulled my jacket a little tighter to my body. It was sad that it was already May and it was still so fucking cold.

Karen and Jessica started power-walking towards the bookstore. I was about to follow when Angela gripped my bicep and looked at me with her eyebrows frowning in worry.

"Hey, are you okay? It feels like you're a little on the edge today. Did something happen with Jasper?"

God, I loved this girl. She could read me so fucking perfectly and she was always willing to put her shit on hold just to deal with my problems. I wrapped my arm around her waist and snuggled into her side.

"Yeah, shit happened. Let's talk about it later? It's going to take a while."

Angela hummed and gave my stylish pony-tail a firm tug before placing her arm around my shoulders.

"Just tell me if I need to kick his ass for you. I'm stronger than I look, you know." She said.

I grinned. Yeah, this girl was a real Amazon. A true Wonder Woman with her upper-body strenght of a malnourished toddler. Guess who had to carry her over-packed school bag nearly every day from one class to the next...

"Yeah, I know. You're my hero, babe."

000

Ah, monday morning. Another pointless day in the exciting High School life of Ella Johnson. I hated mondays. Most kids of my age did. They didn't have the excuse of Mrs. Saunders like I did, however.

I stared blankly to the front of the class, not really seeing the blackboard being filled with chalky words. Karen was nodding off next to me and her quiet sleep noises were the only thing entertaining me. History sucked. Big time.

Mrs. Saunders, an old hag with boobs that sagged all the way to her knees, was lecturing with her screechy voice. It sounded like the fucking fire alarm. It also caused a similar effect in my brain. It told me to get the hell out of there before Mrs. Saunders bored me to death.

Angela was sitting in front of me with Ben. I kicked the back of her seat gently.

"You getting any of this?" I asked even though I knew the answer perfectly well. Angela was a whiz at History. It was her favourite subject after Math. Yeah, she was dry like that. I think her third favourite class was Biology, but that might've been just because she thought our teacher was hot. In that tweedy, dad-like way. I didn't see it. But I also didn't find Ben attractive and Angela was having wet dreams about that boy, so maybe it was just me.

"I'm trying to listen, Ella." Angela hissed over her shoulder. I sighed. Damn her love of school work. Ben was just as focused on the class so I couldn't very well bother him either. Karen was out like a light and I wasn't overly friendly with the rest of the class.

I wanted to slam my head against the desk and sink into a coma. And with my obsession over my face, that said a lot about the torture this class was to me. It didn't help that Mrs. Saunders hated me for some odd reason. She thought I was too stupid or something like that.

Time crawled and my eyes were glued to the clock sitting so prettily above the doorway. That sweet, sweet exit that I couldn't wait to use. The air was stuffy and I was feeling all sorts of uncomfortable. Where was a fire when you needed one?

"Did I miss something?" Karen mumbled sleepily next to me. I could've kissed her right there and then. Relief to this suffocating boredom!

"I have no idea. I haven't heard a word that old bat has said since I stepped inside the classroom. Did you have a nice nap?" There might've been a sharp edge to that last question.

Karen blinked sleepily and gave me a lazy grin. What a bitch. Luckily she had her good moments so she was worth keeping around.

"I'm sorry babe. Cullen sandwich with me in the middle was way more tempting than complaining with you."

Now we're talking. This was just what the doctor ordered. Some good old smut to stimulate my simple teenaged mind. Fuck you, Mrs. Saunders. It was gossiping time!

"Don't leave a girl hanging. Sharing is caring, Karen."

"You seriously need to get laid. Okay, so it started with me in a library, trying to finish that English essay when..."

I spent the rest of the class listening a detailed description of Karen's NC-17 adventures with Rosalie and Alice. I was ever-so grateful that Karen was playing for team Girls. I much rather listened smutty encounters with Rosalie than another episode of Creepward's Sexual Conquests. He seemed to be starring in almost every Cullen-wet dream the girls of our school had. It was disgusting. Even more so now that I was still sore about the stalking thing.

Speaking of, I caught Jasper and Emmett walking down the hallway right in front of our classroom. I had a few words to exchange with my soon-to-be fake boyfriend. I didn't want to be anywhere near that mind-raping creep, so the one Cullen I was in contact with would have to suffice.

"Sorry, babe. I gotta run. Catch you at lunch?"

000

"We need to talk. Now." I hissed out and grabbed Jasper's icy cold hand. I almost thought I would accidentally rip my shoulder out of its socket when his body didn't naturally move with mine, but luckily he was polite (and still ashamed) enough to adjust his steps and say goodbye to his brother before that could happen.

My bottled-up rage kept me from noticing the looks we were attracting. I couldn't be bothered with such things. I was on a mission. A mission to rip Jasper Hale a new asshole. Figuratively speaking, since I wasn't strong enough to actually do that. One could dream...

I marched us straight to a library, which I knew would be abandoned at this time of the day. This was Angela's favourite haunt and she had mentioned that nobody went to the library during the first hours of the day. It suited my purpose just fine. I didn't want to get myself killed by shouting the Cullens' vampire status from the rooftops and I ESPECIALLY didn't want anyone to know that I had blackmailed one of them to be my pretend boyfriend. That would be so embarrassing.

"Uh... what's the matter?" Jasper asked carefully.

Oh boy... redness clouded my vision. What's the matter? Let me fucking tell you what's wrong...

"Why the fuck is Creepward stalking me?!" I shrieked. I was not in control of the volume of my voice and Jasper looked around alarmed. Fucking served him right. Nobody screwed with me.

"What are you talking about? Edward hasn't-"

"The fuck he hasn't! He followed me to the gym! And don't you fucking pretend that he developed a sudden interest in his schoolmates! I KNOW he can fucking read minds!"

Okay, so I didn't _know_ that Creepward could read minds, but I was pretty fucking sure he did. It always felt like he reacted when someone was lost in their thoughts. It was so creepy and felt like a violation, especially now that I had tested my theory and his reactions had supported my suspicions.

I could see it written all over his disgustingly beautiful face. He was actually thinking of denying it all. Fucking asshole. I couldn't believe it. I was supposed to have Jasper Hale all figured out. He was supposed to be to Goddamn honorable one. The one least likely to fuck with me. Fuck it all to hell.

I was so done with him. The whole Cullen clan could go fuck themselves. I was about to get a pneumonia or something like that so I wouldn't have to attend that fucking wedding.

God, that fucking bitch of a cousin. It was all Ariel's fault! I would've steered clear from these fucking monsters if she hadn't decided to fuck with my life by sending that invitation to her wedding.

"I'm sorry he did that. Edward can't control his gift."

I couldn't believe it. I let out a disbeliving snort.

"Oh please! Don't try to bullshit me!"

Jasper gave me a long look, frowning in confusion. Like he was telling the truth and couldn't figure out why I was so angry in the first place. I swear these people were so cut off from the real world...

"You can't be that stupid." I gasped out. This was ridiculous. Couldn't control it? I didn't buy that bullshit for a second. Jasper looked so damn sincere. He couldn't actually believe it, could he?

"It's true. He has never been able to prevent himself from reading other people's minds."

Oh fuck. He was an idiot. I didn't think it was possible for me to find someone more gullible and stupid than me. Congratulations, Jasper Hale. You are officially the dumbest student in all of Forks High. What an accomplishment!

"Okay, so why is he still attending school every day?" I asked him. Who was I to pass on the perfect opportunity to shit-talk about Creepward? Who knew, I might even convert one of his own.

My question threw him off. He blinked stupidly and I mentally cursed how hot he looked. I was still angry, but I had gotten the worst of it out of my system. That apparently left room for those Goddamn hormones. I was right back to wanting to jump his bones. Fuck, the power of lady-boners was strong.

"What do you mean?" He asked, cocking his head to the side in the most adorable way. Fuck, I so did not need this right now. I was supposed to want to kill him, not hook up with him. Work, brains, damnit!

"Well, if he can't turn off the voices, how is he able to stay sane? Why does he willingly expose himself to 300 humans all throwing their thoughts around all the time?"

Ah, I could see it clicking in him. His golden eyes darkened, usually a sign of hunger. Or so The Encyclopedia of Angela Weber claimed. So either he was getting it and it made him furious, or he was about to snap my neck and drink me as a snack. I was really hoping for the former option. The school library was a terrible place to die. If I by any chance came back as a ghost, I wouldn't want to haunt a fucking library. So not cool.

"I am very sorry, Ella. Rest assured that he will not bother you again." He said in a low voice that made my skin all tingly. Mmmh... he could talk to me with that tone any time...

I shook my head, trying to snap out of it. I had to get a fucking handle on this hormonal thing. He had a girlfriend and Ella Johnson did not go for guys with girlfriends. I was fucking better than that.

"You better be telling the truth. I don't want that creep violating me like that."

Jasper let out the tiniest of growls and hooooly fuck I couldn't decide whether I thought it was the sexiest sound ever or if it made me want to run as far away from him as possible. Normal people had that Fight or Flight thing, I apparently had the Fuck or Flight version hardwired into my brain. Yay for me...

"I'll personally make sure he will never read your mind without your permission ever again."

Well, if he put it that way. There was something very dangerous and very powerful about Jasper Hale. I wouldn't want to cross him (without a damn good reason) and I hoped Creepward wouldn't either.

"Fine. Listen, I'll drop my homework off to your locker after school. Make sure they are in my locker in the morning, okay? I'll see you on Wednesday. Oh, and pack a swimsuit. We are bound to take a midnight dip into the sea at some point."

See, I could be a forgiving person. Just as long as Creepward kept his distance and his pervy mind far away from mine, we were solid. Or, I was solid with the rest of this sorry bunch of vampires. If I ever figured out a way to kill a vampire, I would not hesistate to murder Creepward.

"Swimsuit?" He asked, confused about the sudden change of subjects. And here I thought that vampires were supposed to be quick-witted.

"Well, unless you want to go skinny dipping... I'm completely fine with that."

If vampires could blush, Jasper Hale would have resembled a tomato. So cute.

* * *

Author's Final Notes:

And here we are, back again with the newest chapter. I would like to thank the 14 people who are following this story. You guys give me butterflies of happiness in my tum-tum! And a fond thank you to those of you who have made it this far and decided that this story is not your cup of tea. I hope you guys find a better story to read!

Also, you might have noticed that there are these strange, unfamiliar names sprinkled here and there. Those are just some OC's that I've added so that there are more than 10 students at Forks High. They may or may not continue making appearances in this story. They are mostly just background peeps, some of them might be considered full-blown side characters.

That's all for now. Let's see if I can't crank out the next chapter by the end of this week...


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: Road Trips Are The Devil**

* * *

It was chaos. Pure and utter chaos.

Mom was running around like a chicken with its head cut off. She was picking up clothes, tossing them away in disgust and then picking them up again. I hated the final check-up she did every fucking time we went somewhere over night.

Mom's blonde hair was a mess and I wondered how she could go out looking like a lunatic that had escaped from a mental hospital. My mom never appeared in public if she wasn't dolled up to perfection. The same way that I would never step a foot outside of my house unless I looked perfect. Image was everything and it was so weird to see my mom so frazzled up.

"You know, I thought my mom was bad..." Faye whispered into my ear, looking freaked out of her mind.

I grinned. It was Faye's first official family reunion. She had met Granny May last Christmas and a handful of dad's side of the family, but this was the real trial by fire. She would be scrutinized maybe even more intensely than I was going to be. I would've felt sorry for her, but all of my worrying was reserved for me exclusively. I would throw Faye to the sharks if it meant I could get away unscathed. And I actually liked Faye.

Faye looked beautiful with her long black hair curled elegantly. Mom had spent hours on her hair, and this was not even the wedding-do. First impressions were important and mom was making sure that our family would make a huge bang.

I couldn't help but to do a villain laughter inside of my mind. Between me and Faye, we would outshine Ariel so completely. She had nothing on us. The bride would be the third most impressive, if even that. We had a lot of cousins and Ariel was nowhere near the top in the looks department. I was competing for the top spot with cousin Lydia and aunt Mary who was my youngest aunt.

"You just wait for Saturday... I don't think we'll be able to leave our rooms until the wedding starts. My scalp is already aching just from thinking about what mom will do to us." I said, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. It was awkward since Faye was like a foot taller than me. Literally. She was 5 ft 11. I don't know what they fed to the people living on the reservation, but they were all so fricking tall. Or maybe their Quileute blood just had some witchy magic that made the people tall and attractive. I mean, rumour has it that some of them can turn into magical wolves so who knew what else they had in their systems. So unfair.

"Can we still cancel?" Faye asked, her big brown eyes round and wide. Oh, she was adorable in her naivety. Brody wrapped his arm around Faye's waist and another around my shoulders and leaned heavily on us. I nearly toppled over. If Faye was tall next to me, Brody was the freaking Hulk. Big and wide. Kind of like Emmett Cullen. Except waaaay less hot. Ew.

"Oh, my love, if only we could. You see, mother is on a mission to showcase her beautiful Quileute Princess Daughter-in-law to the hyenas we like to call our relatives. There is no escaping this, I'm afraid."

"Brody Augustus Johnson! You shut your big mouth and go help your father with the luggage!" Mom screeched out.

Brody and me automatically straightened our bodies. Damn that woman was scary. Brody let us go and hurried out of the door. I sighed and slumped against the wall. I couldn't believe I was really doing this. I was so getting caught. I was going to be the laughing stock of the whole fucking family tree. I fucking hated Ariel and her stupid wedding.

"Isn't Jasper supposed to be here already?" Faye asked quietly so to not disturb the dragon. I hummed.

The plan was for us to drive to the wedding venue with Jasper's SUV. Brody's car was acting up and while we would have been absolutely delighted to miss the wedding because we got stranded in the middle of nowhere, mom had vetoed the idea and ordered us to use my date's car. I was pretty sure she just wanted us to take that car for appearance's sake. We were well-off and Brody's Volvo was a nice car, but the Cullens were in the league of their own. Mom was milking this fake date situation for all it was worth.

"He's hiding somewhere near by. I'm texting him as soon as mom and dad leaves. She'll scare him off if they meet before we get there."

"Good call. I wish Brody had been so considerate."

Dad walked into the house, looking frazzled like hell. I think he might've hated the family outings even more than me and Brody. Mostly because ever since Brody got his driver's license we have refused to travel in the same car as mom. That left dad as the only one she could nag to. Her favourite past time.

"Where's that blasted boy of yours, Ella? Your mother is going insane." He grumbled. Oh, how that silent disapproval surrounded me like an old companion. I would miss it when I someday managed to get the hell out of the house. Mmmh... just a few more years...

"I strongly advised him to not meet with my mother until we've arrived at the venue and it will be impossible for him to run away." I said, smirking at his twitching, bushy eyebrow. I loved to make him frustrated. It was one of the only benefits of being an angsty teenager.

"Good call..." He muttered, averting his eyes and clearly resigning to his fate. Hah! Served him right. It was entirely his own fault that he had been stupid enough to fall for my mother. That woman was all sorts of crazy.

I watched as they finally drove off. About the fucking time. I was all about being fashionably late, but I didn't want to give off the impression that I was afraid of attending the fucking wedding. Goddamn I was so sick of thinking about this fiasco. The sooner these four days were over, the better. I texted Jasper and he appeared on the driveway like 30 seconds later. Apparently he took it literally when I told him to stick close.

"That's him? Ooh, I can't wait to see what sorry creature you've dragged home." Brody appeared from behind me, nearly knocking me off of my balance with his giant of a body. Honestly, why did he have to suck out all of the height being passed down in our genetic coding? It was so unfair. Like most things in my life.

Well, at least I could get a little bit of joy out of Brody's expression when Jasper stepped out of his very nice black SUV. Okay, I couldn't blame him. Jasper was looking FIIIIIINE. He was wearing an aquamarine button-up shirt and perfectly fitting jeans with a designer leather jacket to top it all off. Stylish, yet casual. And it fit with my lilac sweater and white skinny jeans pretty well. Thank God for his (or his girlfriend's) sense of style. I could already see Ariel's smug little face fall at the sight of this man-candy. Fuck, I hoped I wasn't drooling. Entirely possible.

"Oh my God... I think I'm in love." Brody gasped out. His eyes were round and he was nearly drooling. For a hot second I thought he was taken back by Jasper's sexyness, but then I realized that my brother was having a hard-one over a car. A fucking car.

"Damn, Ella! I mean, I heard the Cullens were hot, but DAMN." Faye gasped next to me. I couldn't blame her reaction. I had thought that the limit of vampire's sex appeal came in the shape of Dr. Cullen, but daaaamn his son got something wonderful going on for him. I just really hoped I wouldn't spew out some sort of garbage out of my mouth. Objectifying others was all good and fine when it happened inside your mind. It all turned to shit when you said any of those things out loud. I really didn't want to be THAT person, even if my mind was imagining all kinds of naughty things I would love to do with him.

"Oh yeah, you've never seen any of them. I see you around the house so often I always forget that you don't go to my school."

It was really hard to remember that Faye lived at the reservation. She was just always around and my mind automatically connected her with what I was familiar with. Home and School. Come to think of it, I had never been invited to Faye's place. Her parents were really into the whole secret society thing the Quileutes had going for them. No outsiders. It was something about some Quileute boys turning into werewolves and nobody was supposed to know. Psh. I often wondered if people around here were blind or just extremely stupid.

I mean, Sam Uley, once the shining star of the reservation, had gone missing for like two months and then he came back buffed as fuck. Faye had told her tribe's old legends during family dinners and me being me, I had written them down to show Angela later. When the rumours of Sam started floating around, she had made the obvious connection.

Really, once you knew about vampires, it wasn't that hard to make the leap to werewolves. Especially when the tribe members had some wonky relationship problems with our resident vampires.

Anyway, back to me trying not to drool and make a complete idiot of myself.

"Hey. Thanks for doing this. I mean it." I greeted Jasper. I was feeling exceptionally proud of myself for staying in upright position and for not draping myself all over him like a cat in heat. Yay for Ella's growing immunity to vampiric sexy-vibes. I feel like it should be something I could put in my resume.

"Oh, so I had a choice in this?" He said jokingly enough. The boy was learning. Maybe he could be unleashed into the society some day. Okay, I shouldn't be that mean, not even in the privacy of my mind. I could never be sure if Creepward was lurking in the shadows.

"Other than dooming my sister to certain death? No, bro." Brody exclaimed loudly from the car. I don't think he even properly registered who my date was and was just happily drooling over his car that we would be driving to my personal hell with. Boys...

"That's a bit melodramatic." Jasper remarked. Oh, that poor boy had no idea. If I didn't absolutely need him, I would've told him to run. My relatives were going to leave nothing left when they were done with him. I wondered if Jasper would ever be free from the nightmares that were sure to come.

"If you only knew... Hi, I'm Faye and that is Ella's brother Brody."

"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintances." Jasper said, very formally. I snickered quietly. A simple 'hi' would've been just fine, but it seemed like Jasper Hale liked the theatrics.

Brody started tossing our suitcases into the trunk of Jasper's car and Faye went to make herself comfortable on the backseat. I tried my hardest to not stare at Jasper's magnificence too much, but he was making it super difficult.

"Did you read the notes I gave you?" I asked to kill the awkward silence that was forming. I would have called it sexual tension, but I was pretty sure it was just one-sided so it couldn't be anything other than awkward. Story of my fucking life.

"Yes. Your notes were very well compiled and it was easy to follow them. I assume that note-taking is a hobby of yours?"

I nodded. My mouth felt dry and other places felt a little damp. It was fucking ridiculous. Jasper was just literally standing there and I was going gaga over him. I had a bad feeling about the next four days.

"Oh, thanks for doing my homework. Mrs. Saunders was impressed with the 'improved quality of my horrid school work'. I appreciate that you half-assed it. I think that the old bat would have been suspicious if I suddenly turned in a Cullen-worthy paper."

Jasper graced me with a small smile. I got the feeling that he didn't practise smiling all that often. That was something that should be fixed. His smile lit up the area around him and he looked so much more handsome with a smile than with the pained or bored look he sported every day at school.

"The car is packed. Dude, you mind if I drive? I'm dying to take this baby for a spin." Brody said, breaking the ogling I was practising. I looked at the two of them side to side.

Jasper was an inch or two taller than Brody, but Brody was much wider. They both had clearly muscular bodies, but Jasper was all lean muscle while Brody was bulky as fuck. He lifted weights four times a week and was constantly trying to beat his record. Jasper looked more like a natural athlete or like those yummy men that decorated underwear catalogues.

And now I was imagining Jasper without his shirt on. I was way too thirsty...

"Yeah, sure. It's all yours."

It was funny to watch Jasper trying to interact with Faye and Brody. He seemed so fucking uncomfortable that it was adorable. And these were the most tolerable out of all the people he would encounter before we could get the fuck out from the wedding on Sunday.

"We need to hit the road. Mom will skin us alive if we make a bad impression." I said, checking the time on my phone. We had three hours of driving ahead of ourselves and that didn't include the several stops we would inevitably had to make. Faye had a bladder the size of a pea. I groaned and dragged myself to the front seat of Jasper's car. I just wanted this thing to be fucking over.

000

It's my very humble opinion that the Devil created the concept of road trips. There was nothing good or pure about being packed tightly together in a metal box with no escape in sight. I mean, what options did you have except just to grin and bear it? You can't just get out of the car when you get sick of it. It would only cause you to be stranded, most likely in a place where nobody would come and pick you up.

Then again, that option was starting to sound very much appealing. It had been only 20 minutes, but the mood in the car was driving me crazy. Faye was constantly checking Jasper out. I could feel Jasper's eyes burning into the back of my skull and Brody was grinning in a way that only meant a world of trouble for me. Brothers... they should all just get dropped into hell or something.

Nobody was speaking and it was awkward as fuck. I tried to think of things to talk about, but what was there? Hey Brody, did you know that Jasper is a vampire? That would go over so beautifully. And it happened to be my only real, tangiable fact I knew about Jasper. Sure he had told me a great deal of things over our planning session, but I didn't know if any of it was true. I could talk about our arrangement for my school work, but that would raise a lot of questions on how I managed to rope Jasper into being my homework slave/tutor... and I don't think that particular conversation would end well.

Besides, the idea of my brother cozying up with a Cullen made my skin crawl. Even the undead didn't deserve that. It would be better if Brody never spoke to Jasper. Ever.

Unfortunately, such was not my lot in life. I knew it the second Brody took a deep breath. My body tensed and I hunched over slightly, my brain telling me to be prepared to jump out of a moving vehicle to escape the embarrasment that was about to ensue.

"Soooo... Jasper..."

MAYDAY! ABORT! ABORT!

"Don't you 'Sooooo Jasper' him!" I growled in warning. My brains were gathering data on things I could use against him, but it was a lost cause. Brody shared everything with Faye and that girl was too disgustingly in love with him to even care. Fuck...

"Do you think my sister's hot?"

Facepalm. And I mean that literally. Brody's face and my palm had a beautiful collision. The last word came out muffled, but with the vampiric super powers, there was no doubt in my mind that Jasper had heard it perfectly clear. So fucking unfair.

Goddamn that white line at the edge of the road looked inviting. I mean, how badly could it hurt? I'd take a mangled body over this ordeal any day.

"Yes, do tell." Faye said in a sugary sweet voice. That traitor. What a bitch.

"Don't encourage him! And Jasper, ignore them!"

"Aww, look how red she's getting!"

"Keep your damn eyes on the road and quit the bullshit!" I screeched. Loudly. In such a high pitch that I was sure the resident humans in the car couldn't even hear properly.

I willed myself to NOT turn my eyes on the rearview mirror that happened to be positioned just so that I could see what was going in the backseat. It didn't work out. I HAD to peek. I couldn't help myself. You know the saying, curiousity killed the cat? Well, this cat just got thrown under a fucking road roller.

He was smirking. Fucking SMIRKING! Oh the nerve! I could accept a humorous smile, but not this. That arrogant, annoyingly sexy smirk made me want to smear his face on the ground or something. It was sinful as fuck. And fuck me if it didn't do some wonderful things to my body.

By now I was convinced that my hormonal overdrive would never die down. I was doomed to go totally gaga over this guy for the rest of my life. Just my fucking luck.

"Oh yes. I could just eat her right up."

Fuck. Me. Vampire humour. Eating people, hardy-har. What a fucking riot. Well, at least now I knew two things for sure about Jasper Hale. He was a vampire and he had a really sucky sense of humour. Ha! See what I did there? 'Sucky'? I'm so funny I want to cry.

"Oooooh... that sounds promising. You trained him really well, Ella." Faye, that traitorous beast, said. Oh, she would have hers before this disaster was over and done with. I was looking forward to seeing how she could handle my relatives with some conversation starters from me.

"Yeah, especially since you've never even had a boyfriend before."

Thank you Brody. Please do shut the fuck up now. I was not comfortable talking about my lack of romance in life. It wasn't that I was embarrased by my lack of romantic experience or anything like that. It's just that every time my relationship status is brought up, it's being made fun of. That kind of stuff gets old really fast and I had to deal with it for so fucking long.

"Wait, you've never had a boyfriend before?" Jasper asked, utterly surprised. It's just sad that my pathetic social life was the thing that could break the masks of vampires.

"What of it?" I mumbled, toeing off my heels and lifting my knees so I could bury my head into something. Hands just didn't work when you didn't want to look like you were pouting like a little kid, even though you totally were.

"I'm just a bit surprised. You seem to be constantly surrounded by guys at school, so I just assumed that you had dated at least some of them."

I scoffed. As if any one of them would actually ask me out. The reason I was so well-liked overall in school was that the guys saw me as one of them and the girls found me unthreatening because of it. Girls were the bitchiest of creatures ever made and they would swoop down on you like a pack of vultures if they thought you were stealing all of the attention from the guys. Myself included, of course. I wasn't above that shit.

"Not a chance. They wouldn't want to date their 'bro'."

"It's sad really. Our little Ella is just too manly for them to feel attracted to her."

I was going to murder my brother one of these days. Faye gave his seat a little kick. She didn't mind my brother teasing my light-heartedly, but she always drew the line with his more mean-spirited comments. I theorized it was because she was brought up in a community where everyone was considered family and all that jazz. It must've been quite the culture shock when she was introduced to the daily fights occuring in our household. It sometimes felt like we were never meant to be born in the same family.

"Really?" Jasper asked with a raised eyebrow. Goddamn he looked hot doing that. I had to stop looking at him. I was in so much trouble. I prayed that this was just a temporary period of insanity and that it didn't leave any lasting problems in my brain.

I could feel his eyes going up and down at the lenght of my seated body. I guess he was trying to find what was so manly about me. It was a mystery to everyone. I mean, you had to search really hard to find someone girlier than me. Even Lauren and Jessica, our token girly-girls held no candle to me and my obsession with all things pretty and sparkly and feminine.

"Can we make a quick stop? I need to pee." Faye said in her whining puppy dog voice.

I can't believe I'm saying this, but I actually wished we would be at the venue already. Fucked up, right?

000

Brody pulled over at a gas station right outside of Port Angeles. Faye practically ran to the little girl's room. I got out of the car in much slower manner and stretched my body. Sitting still for so long didn't really fit me.

I breathed in the fresh air. It was pretty damn cold. I regretted not wearing a jacket. I had decided that it would be unnecessary since I was going to be in a car the whole way and I could put on a jacket or a thicker set of clothes if I got cold once we arrived to our destination.

Jasper walked up to me and shrugged off his beautiful leather jacket. He dropped it on my shoulders like he was handling something delicate and precious.

"Here. The weather is a bit chilly to wander around without a proper jacket." He said smoothly.

I swooned. Like, my knees actually buckled and I had to catch myself. My heart gave a little squeeze and I felt super touched and emotional. Like, I was blinking back suspicious moisture in my eyes and swallowing down that choking feeling you get in your throat when you cry.

Jasper Hale was a fucking majestic creature.

"Thanks. So, do you get cold at all?" I asked after looking around to see if Brody was anywhere near by. He must've went inside to buy something because he was nowhere to be seen. It was just me and Jasper and honestly, I preferred it this way.

"No, not really. I can feel that snow and ice are cold, but the coldness doesn't affect me in any way. It's the same with heat. Things feel warm and hot, but I don't feel warm."

He was surprisingly open about this whole vampire thing. I had thought he'd be much more reluctant to share information. It was almost like he was relieved that I knew the truth so he didn't have to pretend to be a human around me. I guess that was understandable to some degree.

"May I ask you something, Ella?" He said after a tiny pause. He looked down at me, his face neutral. I nodded.

"Yeah, sure. What do you want to know?"

"Why did you choose me? Carlisle said it was a process of elimination...?"

Fuck... I went bright red and my ears felt so damn hot all of a sudden. Yes, ask the hard questions, why don't you...

I thought about how to answer his question. Honestly, I had to think about what the answer even was. There had been certain desperation of course. I wasn't suicidal and getting mixed in the whole vampire business was a guaranteed way to lower your chances of living to 100 years old.

I had thought about picking Rosalie. I didn't think I was gay, but I was pretty sure I could've faked it with Rosalie as my partner. I mean, the girl was like a Goddess and I wasn't entirely sure if I wanted to be her or bone her. In the end I had decided that I was too afraid of her and...

...much more attracted to Jasper Hale. It appeared that I had a thing for blondes. More specifically, to blonde vampires. It turned out that Jasper filled all the requirements on the list of things that I found attractive. He was tall, he was blonde and he was a vampire old enough to be my great-great-grandfather.

I had serious issues.

"If I tell you the truth, will you run away screaming? Cause I can't have you do that." I asked. It was a valid question. Angela had told me to be honest with him. She reads a lot of books and she has a whole collection of books about healthy relationships and the importance of good communication.

If I was going to be completely honest with him, I needed to know that he wouldn't bail just because I freaked him out.

He smiled again. Damn that was a good look for him. I pulled his jacket tighter around me and took a deep breath. Fucking hell he smelled amazing. I needed this scent in my life. Was it possible to bottle this perfection and use it as a perfume? I would actually consider using perfume if it smelled like him.

"I promise you that I will not run away. I am committed to seeing this wedding through. I gave you my word that I would help you and I am not one to go back on my word."

I hummed, mulling over on how to phrase my answer.

"Because I think you are like stupid hot and I kind of want to fuck you."

Well, that was eloquently put. My face had just started to cool down and now I felt hot all over again. I looked Jasper dead in the eyes. He promised not to run away. Time to see if he really meant it. I was going to fucking embrace this awkwardness.

Jasper looked at me blankly for a while and then the most amazing thing happened. He let out a little huff of laughter. His eyes crinkled up and then he really started laughing. It wasn't mocking or mean laughter. It was infectious and the corners of my lips started to tug upwards. There was a giggle building inside of me that needed to be let out. So I did.

We laughed for a good while. It felt so liberating and did wonders to my stressed-as-fuck mind.

"Thank you for your honesty. You are a rare wonder, Ella Johnson."

Hello, hormones. I was wondering where you had disappeared to. I swooned again. This boy was seriously going to be the death of me. All of this horniness couldn't be healthy.

I wanted to ask him how he knew for sure that I was telling the truth and not just making a big joke of it all, but Brody and Faye chose that moment to step outside of the gas station. Was it just me or were they looking a lot more frazzled than they had going in?

Fucking hell. My brother and his girlfriend had just had a quickie in a dirty gas station bathroom. Ewwwww! So fucking gross!

"I can't believe you two. You couldn't wait until we got there?" I complained. I was throughoutly disgusted. On a plus side, it meant that my lust of Jasper had been pushed back. Nothing killed the mood quite like knowing your brother just got laid.

"Come on, little sister. When the nature calls..." Brody waggled his eyebrows like an idiot. I honestly couldn't understand what Faye saw in him. Love really was blind.

"Whatever you say, mr. 30 seconds. We are running late so let's get a move on."

"Hey! I lasted way more than 30 seconds!"

Gross! Gross gross gross...

"Ew, shut up Brody! Let's just go!" I screamed and covered my ears. I just needed to find my happy place.

A place where I was an only child and Ariel was slowly dying of leprosy and I didn't have to attend her stupid wedding...

* * *

Author's Final Notes:

Another day, another chapter. So, most of you have probably figured out that this is going to be a really long story. I hope it doesn't feel like the story is not progressing at all. I just like to take my time building up the characters and their relationships. I'm sure that eventually something resembling a real plot emerges from this sea of words... maybe.

Again, thank you for sticking with this story! It brightens my day whenever I get an email notification that someone has followed my story. These are the small joys in life that make it worth living! Hopefully you all will stick around to the very end, but no hard feelings if you don't. Shit happens and sometimes you just get bored of stories.

Well, next time we finally arrive to the dreaded wedding venue! And the infamous Ariel shall finally make her appearance. The next chapter will hopefully be out early next week. I'll see you all then!


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: Can we leave yet?**

* * *

Brody parked right next to dad's car. I looked out of the window, nervous and wanting to be anywhere but here. The place was gorgeous, I had to grudingly admit. It was a private resort just an hour's ride away from Seattle's central. It was surrounded by woods that were just getting some green back to their leaves.

The main building had a very European style to it. It looked like it had stood there for centuries, even though I knew for a fact that this place had been built only five years ago. Off to the side were small cabins where the guests would be staying. There was a path that led down a hill to the ocean. I could hear the waves crashing into rocks even from inside the car. I wondered how I would get any sleep during this hellish trip.

"We have to get out." Brody said in a monotone voice.

"Uh-huh." I complied, but made no effort to get out of the car. Faye and Jasper were fidgeting in the back seat, gathering their things and such.

"We really have to get out now."

"Uh-huh." No movement on either of our parts. I wish Brody had been successful in sneaking a bottle of tequila in his luggage. Mom had sniffed it out and confiscated it. I bet dad had already started on emptying it. It was a shame. I could've used a drink. Or seven.

"We can't go back, right?"

"We can't." I acknowledged.

I grimaced when I spotted a group of people happily chatting and walking towards the main building. Two of my cousins and their families. This would've been enough of family time for me. Fucking Ariel and her stupid wedding.

"Get a grip, you two!" Faye huffed and stepped outside of the car. The opening of my door brought me out of my wallowing. I looked up, eyes big and round, and saw Jasper there, smiling a gentle smile.

"Come on, sweetheart. Let's go meet your relatives." He said in the most charming voice imaginable. Huh. I never noticed the hint of a southern accent in his voice. I had never been one for the southern drawl, but he made it work. All too fucking well, I might add. Honestly, was there anything about this guy that I didn't swoon over? It was so fucking unfair!

"Now why can't you be that charming and confident?" Faye grumbled from the other side of the car. I looked at my brother and his girlfriend and I instantly felt better about this whole thing.

Brody was a shivering, sweating mess of a person. He was squeezing the steering wheel so tightly that his knuckles were white. What kind of a sister would I be if I let that slide?

"Well, I keep trying to warn you that Brody is a loser, but you never listen. I mean, look at him! Have you ever seen anything more pathetic?"

Brody's face turned towards me. He glared at me. The back of my neck felt suddenly very warm. Fuck, he was going to get me for that. I just couldn't resist. Ah well, it was worth it. Brody's misery made me feel great.

"Now that you mention 'pathetic', how are you handling yourself there, little sister? All of your favorite relatives are inside that building just aching to see what's going on in your life."

Now that was a fucking low blow. He knew I was going to be chewed up and spat out as soon as I walked into that building.

"Faye! Brody's being mean to me!" I whined dramatically. When all else fails, use the girlfriend...

"You started it, Ella. Put your big girl panties on and take it like a woman."

"Now how did you know I was wearing a thong?"

Jasper coughed. I looked at him and he was finding the ground extremely fascinating. Aww, was the big bad vampire embarrassed to talk about my underwear? What was his reaction going to be like when he saw me in a bikini? Just the thought of that made me feel tingly.

"Should we get going? We need to sign in..." He said.

I sighed, my good mood disappearing. Did I really have to go into that building? I was very happy right here next to the getaway vehicle. Brody got out of the car and wrapped an arm around Faye's waist. He was looking a lot more put-together. It seemed that I had once again saved the day. Was I an awesome sister or what? The things I sacrificed for my family...

"How do I look?" I asked Jasper, fussing with my clothes and hair and cursing that there wasn't a full body mirror at my disposal at the moment. I couldn't very well check myself out at the lobby where everyone could see me. Johnson family had to look perfect in every way. Mom would skin me alive if I broke the illusion of how put together we were.

"You look fine."

Aaaand que the breakdown.

"Fine? Just FINE?! Oh my god! What's wrong? Is it my hair? My make up? Is my shirt dirty? What-" I was practically hyperventilating.

Brody pulled me against his chest and wrapped his massive arms around me, interrupting my meltdown.

"You look beautiful. My sister is perfect." His voice was calm and reassuring. It was a full 180 from the tone he had just seconds ago. Brody was a lot of things, most of which were gross, but he had few good qualities. Always having my back in family gatherings was one of them.

I tried to calm myself down. I couldn't afford to have an episode right here and now. There was no way in hell I would show weakness in front of that fucking snake. Ariel would never let me live that down.

"Ella, you're the prettiest girl at this party. I know it." Faye said gently. What a liar. She was so much prettier than me. Faye was like a goddess or an angel. Well, I had to appreciate the effort to calm me down. I didn't mind being second best to Faye, but fuck if I was going to appear in front of that she-devil looking less than my absolute best. No way in hell.

"I'm sorry..." Jasper said. He looked confused as hell. His eyes were wide and he didn't know what to do with his hands.

I couldn't really blame him. He didn't know what my family did to me. He was a total outsider and there was no fucking way he could know what it meant to be a part of this fucked up family tree.

"No, don't worry about it. I'm just a huge fucking mess." I said shakily. Deep breaths, Ella. Deep breaths.

Brody cleared his throat and gave a meaningful glare to Jasper. He could be a decent brother when the occasion really called for it.

"Ella, you are a gorgeous girl. I'm honoured to be the lucky guy who gets to escort you this weekend." Jasper said, trying to charm the pants off of me. I gave him a weak smile.

"Nice save, bro." Brody said, humor back in his voice. I pulled myself away from his bulky frame and wiped my eyes just to make sure that I hadn't cried. Nope, my eyes were still dry. I was going to call this fucking progress! I remember breaking down last Christmas when Granny May showed up and that had involved me running away to Angela's house where I proceeded to bawl my eyes out for three hours. Just because Granny May had given me _the look_.

I was fucked up. Simple as that.

I appreciated Jasper's efforts. He was laying it pretty thick, but it did make me feel a lot better. More like a Johnson. There wasn't any room for mistakes.

I fanned my face and plastered on my 'meet the family' smile. I could deal with my issues when I got back home from this hell-hole. I foresaw a lot of therapeutic bitching sessions with Angela in my future.

"Okay, I'm good. Let's get this fucking nightmare over with." I said and took a hold of Jasper's arm. He started leading me towards the doors and with each step my smile widened and my air of false confidence grew.

Jasper pushed the doors of the main building open and guided me through it like a proper fucking gentleman. Now, normally I would've swooned hard and probably tried to dry-hump him, but my personal nightmare took all of my attention away from him and the sexy gentleman thing he had going on.

The entrance hall was filled with familiar faces, nearly all of which I hated with fiery passion. I swear, the buzzing of dozens of conversations died down like someone had flipped a fucking switch. The room quieted and suddenly everyone was staring at me.

Then the whispers started. I took a deep breath to try and calm myself. Jasper suddenly stiffened next to me.

"What is it?" I asked quietly. I couldn't afford him having a freak-out right now. I was trying not to have a freak-out and I needed him to be my fucking safety blanket.

"They are all talking about us."

Well of course they were. Their favorite black sheep had just brought a fucking god amongst men to the family reunion. I guess I should be flattered.

"Good job on picking Jasper. I feel better already..." Faye murmured into my ear. That bitch. She was enjoying this. I looked up to her beautiful face. She had the balls to smile like an angel. That was unacceptable. If I had to be miserable, then everyone else had to be fucking miserable as well.

"I'm not the one announcing my engagement this weekend. They'll fucking eat you alive once mom drops the news."

Faye's pretty little smile died real fast. Ha! Served her right. I couldn't wait for her to take some heat off of me. Brody hurriedly led Faye away from us. That fucking coward... Why did I ever think he was a good brother again?

"So do you actually hear what they are saying? Creepward always looks like he's listening in on conversations so do you guys have like super-hearing?"

It probably wasn't the best place to ask, but a girl needed to know. I had managed to get through the car ride without having to use the bathroom, but I would soon need to go and I wanted to know if I could use one without him hearing EVERYTHING. How gross would that be?

"Yes, I can hear them. Each and every one of them. Your relatives don't seem to think very highly of you..."

Oh my... was that a hint of growl I heard in his voice? The tingles were back and not even my fear and anxiety could keep them away. I didn't even give a damn about my family hating on me. It was nothing new after all. Was it just me or was Jasper even sexier when he went all 'grrr'?

"I'm so turned on right now..."

Fuck. Did I say that out loud?! Jasper looked down at me in surprise. Yeah, I absolutely said that out loud. Shit. Shit shit shit shit.

He looked at my face for a while. It looked like he was concentrating on something. Then he unleashed that devilish smirk on me and my knees went soft. Dear god that boy was sexy.

"I find your honesty truly refreshing, Ella Johnson."

Uh... at least he wasn't freaking out and running away from me? He must've grown immune to girls throwing themselves at him.

I cleared my throat and tried to focus my attention to the hundreds of eyes who were ogling at us. Brody and Faye had made their way to the reception desk already. They were chatting with some of our uncles and aunts. Brody looked like he was suffering. Good for him.

It was just great. All the people I hated in the same room. Well, nearly everyone I hated. Creepward was nowhere to be seen and I couldn't see Granny May's shrivelled body anywhere. Maybe the old bat had died? That would be the best news of the year, but I seriously doubted it. There was no way that Granny May wouldn't end up in hell and I was pretty sure not even the Devil wanted her around.

Then, my eyes zeroed in on the one person I loathed above all others. Everything else faded away, including the walking sex god I had on my arm. There she was... Ariel fucking Reagan.

What the fuck had she done to her face?! Rage boiled in my body. That fucking skank had gone under the knife and rearranged her whole fucking face. How dared she?! That hell-spawn had no right to be beautiful.

"Ella?"

I ignored Jasper. That's how much I hated that bitch. I practically forgot that Jasper was even with me. I just glared at her.

Ariel had never been pretty. She used to have this ugly-ass doggy looking face with upturned pug nose, manly jaw, thin lips and beady little brown eyes. This was not the Ariel Reagan I remembered.

The bitch had transformed herself completely. Her lips were now in that Angelina Jolie category, her jaw had been shaved into the perfect heart-shape, her nose was suddenly gloriously thin and straight and she had definitely had an eyelid surgery or two.

I should've guessed it. Ariel always tried to ruin my life. To steal everything away from me. I had just one fucking thing going on for me in this fucked up family and that was my good looks. That walking pile of horse shit had just gone and done the ultimate sin. She had stolen my fucking thing.

"Can you please calm down, Ella? Your emotions are too much."

Growling. Sexy, sexy growling. Right... I wasn't flying solo this time around. Oh no. Ariel might've stolen my thing, but I had gained something much better. I looked to Ariel's left and found her loyal lap dog Justin standing right next to her.

He was not an unattractive man. He was of average height and he always draped his lean body with perfectly tailored clothes. Justin always looked very well put together and he probably had a personal stylist who knew how to dress him up. I guess he could be considered somewhat handsome, but Ariel's new face-job made him look more regular than before. He had short, blonde hair and dark blue eyes that were his most attractive feature.

I compared him to the perfection that was standing next to me and I couldn't help the smug grin that appeared on my face. Justin was _nothing_ compared to Jasper.

"You are a scary woman..." Jasper muttered.

"What do you mean? Wait, did you say something about my emotions earlier?"

Did Jasper have a super power like his creepy brother? Angela had speculated that he probably had, but we had no idea what it could be. It turned out that Jasper wasn't that easy to read. Go figure. Then again, maybe all vampires could read emotions or something like that? It wasn't like we had all of this shit figured out.

"I'm an empath. I can feel other people's emotions and manipulate them at will. It's a very handy skill, especially if I want to know if someone is lying to me."

Great. Just great. Super hearing and a built-in lie detector. I was fucking screwed.

"So why am I scary?" I was curious to hear his answer.

Fuck. My eyes made contact with Ariel. My day just kept getting better and better.

"Ella!" She screeched. It was like fucking nails on a chalkboard. Nasty shivers ran down my spine, but I ignored that and painted the fakest of smiles on my face. Show no weakness in front of your enemy. Her 9 inch heels clicked nastily with every step she took towards us. I was pretty sure she wore them on purpose so she could tower over me. She wasn't that much taller than me, but with those heels I had to look up at her.

"Oh my god, Ariel! I barely recognized you!"

There was just the right amount of contempt in my voice. Backhanded compliments were an art form that the women in my family had mastered. Her sugary sweet smile soured real bad for a split second before she caught herself.

"Yes, Dr. Metzger is truly talented. I can give his card to you if you want. I'm sure he'd be happy to... help you."

This fucking bitch. She was talking about my nose. The fucking gall of her. I gritted my teeth and kept my smile stubbornly on my face. I was not going to lose to her. I fucking refused!

"I might have to take you up on that. You look so..." I tried to think about the right word to describe her. Revolting? Nauseating? There were so many options. I let my eyes sweep up and down the lenght of her face and gave the tiniest of smirks. Just enough so she could catch the meaning of it.

"...natural. I could hardly tell that you went under the knife."

 _I could rearrange your face again, cousin dearest..._

Her muddy brown eyes narrowed. Aw, poor baby... did I hit a nerve? Ariel could change her appearance as much as she liked. Nothing would ever change the fact that it was all fake.

"It's great that you could attend our wedding, Ms. Johnson. Would you mind introducing your... companion?" Justin said. He had made a mad dash across the room when he realized that Ariel had approached me. I got to hand it to him; he might've been an obnoxious and pretensious douce who refused to call me by my name despite knowing me for so long, but he did always try to cool down the lifelong war I had going on with Ariel.

Ariel's eyes bugged in the most unattractive way once she realized the Adonis who was standing at my side was in fact with me. That's right, you bitch. I wasn't attending this disaster by myself.

"Oh, how rude of me! Ariel, Justin, this is Jasper Hale. My boyfriend." I said so sweetly that my teeth ached. I had the biggest shit-eating grin on my face.

"It's a real pleasure to meet y'all. Ella has told me so much about you two that I feel like I know you already." Jasper said. Smooth as fucking silk. I sighed happily. His voice was truly orgasmic.

"Uh... boyfriend? I..." Ariel stuttered. Ha! I snuggled to Jasper's very nicely sculpted side and he dutifully wrapped an arm around my waist. This was fucking heaven right here. Yummy vampire around me, Ariel looking like a fucking idiot in front of me... A girl could get used to this feeling of superiority.

"Oh, didn't your mother tell you? _My_ Jasper and I have been dating for quite some time now."

"Almost three months, lil' darling."

Oh yes. Jasper for the assist! And bringing that sexy, sexy southern drawl with him... Ariel's knees buckled slightly and her plastic face turned slightly red.

"No, of course I heard about that. It was quite the topic of discussion with our dear relatives. I just didn't realize that your boyfriend would be quite so..."

That's right. Sorry to burst your implants, but my boyfriend was so much hotter than your fiance! Damn it felt good to be petty as fuck! This whole thing was almost worth it just to see that jealous look on that cow's face!

Justin cleared his throat. He was clearly intimidated by the 'competition'. Psh, as if Jasper would ever even entertain the thought of fucking Ariel Reagan! She was nothing compared to the hottie Jasper had as a girlfriend back home. And I was pretty sure that Alice was equipped with much better personality. I didn't know the vampire, but honestly pretty much anyone was better than Ariel. She was just rotten to the core.

"Anyway, we should probably go get our room, don't you think baby?" I asked, staring up at Jasper. Mmh, he was so tall! Right, I needed to get this shit over with so I could have some distance between us. I wasn't entirely sure that I wouldn't start throwing myself at him if I had to feel his strong arm around me much longer.

"You'll be staying in cabin five. I assume sharing won't be a problem?" Ariel asked in overly sweet voice. I knew what she was up to. I relaxed my body and leaned my entire weight on Jasper. His grip on my waist tightened just a little to keep me upright. I gave Ariel a syrapy smile of my own.

"No, I don't think it will be. Mom said it was okay."

Now, to most teenagers that would have been a big 'Oh my god you did what?!' kind of moment. We weren't supposed to tell our parents if we slept with someone. That wasn't how it worked in my family. No, that would have been normal, something my family just doesn't know how to do. Instead, we inform our parents gleefully that we've snagged someone and they will in turn boast about it to the other adults. Sleeping together means better chances of wedding bells ringing, you see. Well, at least in our family. I don't know if anyone in my family had ever slept with someone they didn't end up marrying. I know, fucking weird.

Jasper's hand rose up to caress the back of my neck. I put my weight back on my own body and gritted my teeth to keep me from flinching. His hands weren't exactly welcomed at the general area of my neck. My bruises still hadn't faded away completely. They were now this ugly greenish brown. They would hopefully be fully healed in a week or so.

He played with the baby hairs at the back of my neck that hadn't made it to the top bun I was sporting. I shivered and I couldn't be too sure if it was because his touch made me have flashbacks of the last time he put his hands on my neck, or if it was because it got me all tingly in all the right ways. It was a miracle that I kept my composure.

"I think we should go unpack first and then I'll introduce you to the rest of my family. Sounds like a plan?" I asked, smiling upwards at Jasper's handsome face. His other hand came to brush my cheek gently and he showered me with the golden miracle that was his beautiful, angelic smile. It was a good thing he was still holding the back of my neck because I might've fallen to the floor if he wasn't there to keep me steady. I was NOT prepared to that.

"That sounds like a great idea. It was so nice to meet you, Ariel, Justin." He said in the smoothest voice imaginable. Was he TRYING to make my ovaries explode?

"Likewise. The schedules are in your cabin. Lunch is in an hour." Justin said politely. I think he was getting some unwelcomed vibes from the she-devil. I would fucking die laughing if he called off the wedding because Ariel is drooling over my date. That would give Ariel the mantle of the black sheep of the family, and I think she would carry it for the rest of her life.

We went to the reception to get the keys to our humble lodgings. I could feel the eyes of my relatives on my neck and I was basking in them for once. The nosy hyenas I was unfortunately related to had been listening in on my conversation with Ariel. Expecting to see some blood, no doubt. Our hatred was no secret in the family.

I didn't pay much attention to our surroundings. I just followed the signs to our cabin. Jasper tailed behind, carrying all of our luggage. I had offered to take some of them. My intense training at the gym made me more than capable of carrying heavy stuff, but he had insisted on being a gentleman. It was fine with me. It meant I was less likely to broke a nail or get sweaty or something.

Our cabin wasn't nearly as bad as I had expected. I had assumed that blond-haired demon would have placed us in some shack, or perhaps a warehouse, but no. This was a proper little cabin with a decent sized bed, a dresser and a small chair. There was also a vanity, TV and what I assumed was the door to our own bathroom. Not too shabby. Still, I just knew that we had been placed to the cheapest one. That was fine by me.

"Your cousin seems... nice." Jasper said as he dropped our luggage.

"Oh yeah. She's a real peach." I said with a wide grin. And that was just Ariel putting on a show. Jasper had no idea what toxic poison lied behind those brown, soulless eyes.

"I could just kill her if you wanted me to." He said in a joking manner.

"Please don't tempt me. I don't know if I could take the moral high ground if that was a real option. She's a horrible, horrible bitch and honestly the world would be a better place without her around."

He looked at me like I was nuts. And granted, that wasn't an impossible diagnosis. Maybe I was just clinically insane. It would explain so much. But that didn't mean I wasn't right about that fucking Ariel.

"Why do you two hate each other so much? The hatred between you was so strong I could practically taste it."

I wanted to start to rant and rave about all the horrible things Ariel had done to me over the years, but that would have made us miss lunch. She wasn't worth of having my mom's wrath descend upon me.

"We don't have time to go into that right now. Just know that she's the Devil reincarnated and she's toxic."

I started unpacking and soon the once clean room looked like a bomb had exploded in there. I had all of my outfit choices spread out across the room and I was going over them one by one, thinking about what I should wear to the dinner later on. My current outfit was sufficient for this lunch. It had to be because I couldn't change my appearance in the next 20 minutes or so.

"What do you think, the white one or the dark blue one for dinner?" I asked Jasper who had already packed all of his clothes away in neat order. Military precision. I filed this another proven fact to my memory bank of Jasper Hale. Mom had forbidden me to bring any notebooks with me, so I had to etch it into my brain. Apparently it's considered rude to keep notebooks about people. It was all fine and good. There was a high chance at least ten of my nosiest relatives would be going through my stuff when I was out of the cabin.

"I'd go with the white one. It makes you pop up in the dark evening."

I hummed, contemplating over the dresses. He did make an excellent point. The evenings weren't exactly bright this time of the year. They were dark, cold and foggy as hell. I hung the white dress up and placed the dark blue one into a wardrobe.

Besides, it was the perfect slight towards the bride-to-be.

"Thanks. So, anything you want to clear up before I'll throw you into the snakepit?" I asked, sitting down on the bed. My feet didn't reach the ground, which was kind of pathetic since the bed really wasn't that high. They just dangled there all awkwardly and shit.

"Isn't the phrase supposed to be 'I'll throw you to the lions?'"

"Oh believe me, a snakepit is waaay more fitting. Anyways, what do you want to know?"

Jasper was about to answer me when he suddenly closed his mouth and cocked his head to the side like a cute puppy. Damn he was good looking. It was so unfair! Anyways, I heard someone knocking on our cabin door just a few seconds later and figured our time had run out.

"I apologize beforehand for what you're about to experience." I said grimly and plastered that fake smile back to my face. I quickly checked my appearance from a mirror before opening the door and really starting this disastrous long weekend. God help me...

"Hi mom. This is Jasper Hale."

* * *

Author's Final Notes:

Here we go. The Wedding Adventure has officially begun. The proverbial first blood has been drawn between Ella and her arch nemesis. Ariel really brings out the worst in Ella. Poor Jasper will have his hands full with dealing her dramatics... and her mother.

Once again, I would like to thank everyone that is still reading this story! Hopefully I'll be able to keep you entertained as we move forward.

And a special thank you to the lovely people who have commented on the story! I've completely forgotten to thank you for reviewing. You know what they say, like creator like OC... Ella's air-headedness had to come from somewhere.

Anyway, I hope to see you all in the next chapter that will hopefully be finished this week!


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7: The First Taste of Misery**

* * *

There she was, in full armour. Standing at the doorway of my little hut. Holding herself like she owned the fucking world. My mother.

I could feel cold sweat starting to form at the back of my neck, just at the hairline. My heart started beating faster and I was pretty sure I was very close to hyperventilating. You know your family is fucked up when seeing your mother's face causes you to have a panic attack.

Jasper appeared behind me. He was so close that our clothes lightly touched. He bent down and brought his mouth very close to my ear. Dangerously close.

"Do you want me to calm you down?" He breathed out. It was so quietly said that I nearly didn't catch it. Oh, the ways he could 'take the edge off' so to speak... I might've drooled. His voice raised all of the hairs on my body in the most delicious way.

Whoa boy, who was being worried about anything? Certainly not me. My mind went straight to the gutter and images of shirtless Jasper having his beautiful strong hands on my body assaulted my brain. He really was a gifted individual.

"Are you two lovebirds going to invite me in?"

Well fuck. Of course my mom had to go and ruin the vibe. I was back to being a nervous wreck just like that. I swear, it was some fucking voodoo magic!

"Of course, come on in Mrs. Johnson. It's a pleasure to meet you." Jasper said like he hadn't just given me an eargasm. Fucking vampires with their sexy mojo. My brain was so close to being fried to hell with the way I kept bouncing between two very extreme emotions.

Mom pushed past me and stepped into the room. Jasper stayed glued to my side and it made me feel so much better. He was really nailing this whole 'protector' thing. His hand came up to rest on the back of my neck again and this time he was more than welcomed to put his hands there. The way he was massaging my neck gently made me turn into goo. He had fucking magic fingers.

I wonder what they would feel like massaging other parts of my body?

"Oh, the pleasure is all mine. I am so happy that my Ella found someone." My mom said. She was giving us a look and I knew it meant trouble. I just fucking knew.

"Mom, he's just helping me this weekend. He has a girlfriend. Like, a real girlfriend that he will go back to once we leave on Sunday." I said. I needed to at least try and remind my mom that Jasper was not going to be my real boyfriend. I didn't want to handle the shit she would put me through once we were home and Jasper moved on with his life.

"Is that so? Well, that's unfortunate."

She didn't sound disappointed in the slightest. Did she fucking know that Jasper was in a relationship and was she ignoring that? Oh god, was she going to try and push me towards Jasper?!

Now I was all for having a sexy boyfriend who could make me go crazy by simply touching my neck, but not Jasper. It would never work! He was with Alice. He was a vampire. Shit was way too complicated and really, in what universe would Jasper Hale want me anyway?

Oh hello... Jasper's fingers moved upwards to massage my scalp gently. The fucking shivers! I had to bite down on my tongue to keep an embarrassing moan from coming out of my mouth.

He had to be doing this on purpose. Either to distract me from the horrible situation or to make me fall head over heels with him. I was starting to think that my inability to reign in my hormones was really flattering to him. At this point I didn't even care.

Fucking hell. Mom's eyes were gleaming. This was not good. Shit... I had to get Jasper away from her or I'd die from embarrasment! Or possibly witness Jasper murdering my mom... which, you know, I wasn't totally opposed to at this moment. I know, shame on me.

"We should get going... we'll be late for lunch."

I looked up at Jasper, expecting him to back me up and escort me to the dining hall of nightmares. Imagine my horrified surprise when I saw the look on his face. He was tense as fuck and staring down my mom.

Shit... Were they really going to do this now? Was there any way I could stop this? I guess I could run away, but what would that accomplish? It would leave my mom alone with Jasper and there was no fucking way that would end well for me.

"So, Jasper..."

Okay, could we make it illegal for anyone with the last name 'Johnson' to say those words?! I tugged at Jasper's arm nervously, but he was ignoring me. Well, ignoring my attempts to make him move. His devilish fingers were still playing with my scalp.

"Ma'am?"

Please kill me now. Jasper was playing right into my mom's hand. She was a fucking criminal mastermind and she was going to manipulate the shit out of this situation. I had seen her do this before, back when Brody was dragging his feet with Faye. She had all but forced the two together by being a total bitch to both of them. Easy thing to do when being a bitch is your normal setting.

"Do you think my daughter is beautiful?"

Great. This was happening. I groaned and pressed my face against Jasper's shirt. Okay, it was not fair that he smelled so good. He was messing with my misery-wallowing. Oh well, at least his torso was a good place to hide my face.

"You don't have to answer that..." I mumbled. I was just going to let this happen. Jasper clearly wanted to get into it with my mom, so I was fucking powerless. I was just going to stay here and enjoy his hard body.

"Yes, I think Ella is very beautiful."

Why the fuck did my heart skip a beat for that?! I looked at him again and I went so fucking red. He looked down at me with a pair of intense dark amber eyes. Holy shit that look pierced right through me. I could feel my panties getting wet. Like, actually feel it. Thank god I was wearing jeans because there was a good possibility that my panties would not be enough to contain what Jasper did to me. In front of my fucking mother.

This was so fucked up beyond reason.

"Well, that much is obvious. And while my dear Ella is slightly... intellectually challenged, she does have a good head on her shoulders. A good heart too, and that's the most valuable thing about a person, don't you agree?"

Why did my mom have to ruin the moment? She was spouting pure bullshit out of her mouth and she actually thought that Jasper would believe it. Ha! Doubtful. He had the pleasure of knowing me for nearly a week. There was no way in hell he hadn't figured out how fucked up I was.

"Of course. Ella is truly a delight to be around."

Of course I was. I was a fucking riot to be around. Just ask Angela how delightful I was when I had one of my frequent breakdowns.

"So it would not be completely out of the question for you to fall in love with my daughter..."

"Mom!" I screeched. Just fucking kill me now.

It was times like these that I hoped I wasn't so scared of my mom. It would have been the perfect opportunity to get all teen-ragey and shit, but I couldn't muster those feelings front and center. Attitude towards Marilyn Johnson never ended well for anyone... well, except for Granny May, but that old bat was in a league of her own. And even then I wouldn't put it past my mom if she just decided to choke the life out of Granny May one of these days.

"Can we please go now? We are so late..."

000

"Now is the time to turn that southern charm on full blast." I mumbled to Jasper as we walked behind my mom towards the dining hall. I was squeezing Jasper's arm as hard as I could. He of course had no problem with that, considering that under a thin layer of elastic softness, his arm was pretty much made of rock and I was only hurting myself.

"Relax, Ella. How bad can they be?"

Ah, the famous last words. If I hadn't been so focused on myself, I might've taken pity on him and told him to run as fast as his little vampire legs could carry him. He had absolutely no idea what was behind that decorated wooden door. Pure. Fucking. Evil.

"Are you fucking kidding me right now? You did just meet my mother, right?"

He just gave me a tiny smirk. The bastard was enjoying this a little too much...

It took a special kind of crazy to survive the freak show that was my family. It was still a struggle to me and Brody and we had been born and bred into this shitty bloodline. Still, there was nothing I could do about it except grin and bear it. So I did just that.

Mom opened the door with the most dramatic gesture imaginable. I gritted my teeth as she pranced into the room filled with my fucked up relatives. I let out the smallest of sighs when I saw that not everyone had yet arrived. Good. I didn't want to draw any unnecessary attention to myself. I had only two missions for this extended weekend. Survive and convince my relatives that Jasper was my legitimate boyfriend.

I was half-expecting my mom to announce us to the audience. She was one for the spotlight. A trait Angela delusionaly claimed I had inherited. What a bunch of crap. We were nothing alike. I was so not a drama queen.

" _Darling!_ It's so good to see you again! How long has it been?!"

God that sound made nasty goosebumps rise all around my body. I took a deep, calming breath before turning my head to the left.

"Aunt Gloria! Wow, you look _amazing_. You haven't aged a day!" I said in rather high pitched voice. Jasper gave a subtle wince that I happened to notice when I sneaked a look at him. Was my voice that loud? Or was he cringing because of Aunt Gloria? Because that woman could grind anyone's gears. She was at least as poisonous as Ariel.

Fucking Ariel and her stupid wedding...

Aunt Gloria was giving Jasper a leering once-over. I felt sick on his behalf. I wouldn't wish Aunt Gloria upon anyone, let alone my almost favourite blood-drinking demon thingy. She was dressed to the nines, like always. Her dark brown hair was so styled and crisp I was sure it would snap in half and crumble to bits if I reached out and touched it.

I mentally calculated how long it had been since I last saw her face. Maybe three years? And she was looking even tighter around the eyes than back then. Plastic surgery was all the rage among my family members. Mom had touched up on her face twice already, not including her annual botox treatments. Ariel clearly had gone and changed her entire facial structure. Even Granny May still looked different each time I saw her and she was fast approaching 90.

"Who is this _divine_ young man?" Aunt Gloria asked. I wanted to gag. She sounded like every cliche man-eater cougar that was ever put to screen. Jasper wrapped his arm around my waist and squeezed my side.

"Pleasure to make your acquaintances, ma'am. I'm Jasper Hale, Ella's boyfriend."

Whoa, down girl! Talk about swooning. I had to lean on his body to keep myself upright. It was a hard task since I kinda also wanted to jump his bones. Did he have to be so sexy? That southern drawl was doing very bizarre things to me. If he wasn't a vampire and in a committed relationship, I might've liked the feeling.

Aunt Gloria was also swooning, which was so wrong on so many levels, even though she technically was closer to Jasper's age than I was. I shook a mental image of old and wrinkly Jasper out of my mind with a grossed out shudder. Fuck if that wasn't effective in toning down the sexy vibes. For like two minutes.

Jasper bent down and kissed Aunt Gloria's heavily perfumed hand like a proper gentleman before helping me to my seat. Like, he pulled my chair for me and everything. I could feel Ariel's pissed off gaze burning in the back of my head and fuck I loved it! Call me evil, but I was milking this shit for all it was worth.

We were luckily sitting with my parents and Brody and Faye. Small mercies. I really didn't like interacting with my relatives any more than absolutely necessary. Ariel clearly hadn't imagined that I'd bring someone like Jasper with me, so she had placed her least favorite cousins with the usual suspects. I had a feeling that the dinner would not go as smoothly, so I was enjoying this while it lasted.

Ariel's mom, Hannah, gave a brief speech before waiters started bringing in the food. I wasn't paying much attention to any of that. I needed to make an impression. Good thing that for once, mom was on my side.

"Ooh, this is not good. Excuse me, could I get the same salad Jasper has?" I asked sweetly from the waiter serving our table. I kept my voice low enough to make it seem like I wasn't trying to draw attention to us, even though that was totally what I was doing.

"Is there something wrong with your salad, miss?" The waiter, a nervous-looking girl asked.

I took a second to bask in the looks of my relatives before giving a brief nod and offering an embarrassed explanation.

"My boyfriend is super allergic to shrimp, so..."

I wished I could blush at the top of the hat, but I wasn't that good of an actress. I only managed to look sort of bashful. Jasper smirked at me and I was really tempted to stuck my tongue out and possibly give him the finger. But I'm a lady, so I didn't do any of that.

"Oh my, that's so true darling. I didn't even think about that! Of course we can't have you eating anything containing shrimp!" Mom wailed dramatically. It did the job and now everyone's attention was on us. Including the attention of one plastic-looking bitch that was destined to burn in the fiery pits of hell.

"Who does she think she is...?" I heard Ariel's angry mumbling from across the room. I had to bite my cheek to stop the satisfied smirk from taking over my face. I had my back turned to her, but I didn't want to risk anyone else seeing my smug face.

I was given the same chicken salad that Jasper was nibbling at. Poor guy. I wondered just how bad it tasted in his mouth. Me, I was enjoying it the fullest. I wasn't a vegan for ethical reasons. It was strictly for dietary reasons. I was way too self-absorbed to care about the world's animal population. I wasn't particularly proud of it, but it was what it was.

These family meetings were pretty much the only times I was allowed to stuff my face with whatever I wanted without my mom glaring daggers at me. It created a false image that I could eat whatever the hell I wanted without gaining a single pound. Mom was more than happy to spread that false image around.

As we ate our salads in awkward silence, I started to think if there was anything I could say or do to end the awkwardness. I glanced at Jasper who was wrinkling his nose in silent disgust as he shoved more and more food down his throat. What kind of conversation could I start with him when taken into consideration who else was sitting in the hearing distance?

If it had been just Brody and Faye sharing our table, I could just start talking about school and shit like that. But my dad was sitting straight across from me and he did not appreciate my sort of lacking prowess at school. He never said anything because pointing out my flaws was mom's sworn duty. It was his disapproving glares that made me not want to bring that subject up.

Then there was the possibility of getting to know Jasper better. That was not going to fly with my nosy aunts and cousins sitting at the hearing distance. We were supposed to be in love and I was supposed to know everything significant there was to know about Jasper. So that was off the table.

Talking about the thing that connected us, his vampiric tendencies, was way out of the question. I didn't have a death wish and I didn't think Jasper would appreciate me babbling about the fact that he wasn't a human...

Angela had made me a list of safe topics to talk about, but it was safely tucked in one of my many, many notebooks... all of which were at home. I couldn't remember a single thing she had suggested at the moment. But speaking of Angela...

"Angela has nipple hair."

Okay, so not my shiniest moment. What can I say? The silence was killing me. Slowly and embarrassingly. I groaned and buried my head into my arms. Why couldn't I ever think before saying something horrible?

"Dude, not cool!" Brody grimaced. I guess he didn't like to think my best friend's boobs. Go figure. Faye snickered into her hand and tried her best to contain herself. Well, no one can't say I didn't break the ice, so to speak.

Mom rolled her eyes and signaled our waiter. She held out her wine glass.

"No, a bit more... more... you know, just leave the bottle. Thank you dearie." She instructed the waiter and downed her wine in one go. I was so jealous. I would have to wait until the nightfall before I could drink my stress away.

"That was very enlightening. Jasper, I am so sorry for my daughter." My dad said.

Fuck. Did I just make a complete fool out of myself in front of a Cullen? I looked at Jasper and there was nothing I could do to stop the hysteric giggle that came out of my mouth. All of the pressure that was building in me had to come out somehow.

He looked so fucking ridiculous! He was staring right at me with his beautiful mouth hanging open. His eyes were huge and round and he looked just so out of it. I noticed that I derived great pleasure from stumping vampires. It really was deceptively easy to do.

"You look so stupid!" I gasped out as soon as I managed to get my laughing somewhat under the control. I so didn't want to think about how ugly and unattractively red my face must've been. Those sorts of things really soured my mood.

My jab at him seemed to bring him back to this plane of existance. His mouth snapped shut and his deep amber eyes stopped looking so blank.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I really didn't need to know about your best friend's nipple hair, baby."

Okay now he was just messing with me. That 'baby' part came out like a purr made of sex. That made some very interesting things to my lower body. For the second time in the last 20 minutes or so, I felt my panties getting soaked and I was once again thanking my fucking lucky stars that I was sitting and had jeans on. I didn't even want to think about how embarrassing it would've been to have something dripping down my bare legs. That was not something I wanted to experience while surrounded by my parents and other relatives. Ewwww!

"Well, changing the subject, how is your family, Jasper? It feels like it has been ages since I last saw your aunt around the town." Mom said, taking a firm grasp of the situation. I cringed. She was fishing for information, most likely the financial sort.

She was really pushing for this thing to turn into reality. She was looking for anything to latch her talons in. I don't know why she bothered. It wasn't like we were going to end up together like in those sappy romance movies I loved to watch. This was very much real life, despite there being fucking vampires and the such involved. There was no way Jasper would leave his perfect girlfriend for a mess like me.

And I had to remind myself that there was no way in hell I _wanted_ him to do that. Let's not forget that he was a blood-sucking immortal... who had been nothing but an amazing protector and a real gentleman...

Shiiiit. I might've been in trouble.

"It was their anniversary two weeks ago. Carlisle took some time off at work and took her to one of our family islands to celebrate." Jasper said smoothly and so uncaringly.

If the back of my neck had felt warm before, now it felt like there was a fucking inferno going on right behind me. Jasper hadn't been particularly loud or anything. It's just that the women of my family seemed to have the ears of a bat and they heard EVERYTHING. And I do mean everything. If a butterfly farted in the Sahara desert, my Granny May likely heard it.

He was putting on a big show and I appreciated that. I was well aware that the Cullens were filthy rich and apparently they had multiple islands they owned. ISLANDS. Our summer house at the Hamptons didn't seem all that impressive anymore. It wasn't even near the ocean.

"How romantic! Now don't you go buying my daughter an island, young man! We don't want her head getting any more airy." Mom joked. Her high pitched laugh grinded my nerves.

"Well, now you've gone and spoiled her birthday gift! Where can I find a better gift on such a short notice? You just like making my life more challenging, don't you Marilyn?"

Well, Jasper certainly had the charming part down on his fake boyfriend profile. I was starting to feel a bit like an outsider when he started chatting up my parents. Brody and Faye were too wrapped up in each other to be much of use to me, so I just had to grin and look at Jasper adoringly. My old insecurities were starting to rear their ugly head and shit got more and more unbearable by the minute.

My phone rang and I could've kissed someone right then. I sighed in relief and quickly excused myself. I gave Jasper a small fake smile and nearly ran out of the hall. It felt like his eyes were following after me.

I wedged myself into a small alcove near the main exit and nearly cried when I answered my phone.

"You are a Godsent, Ang!"

" _Call it a sixth sense or something. I figured things had started to go south right about this time. Was I right? You don't sound so hot."_

I loved that girl. I grouched down and played with the red carpet covering the floor.

"I guess it's going as well as could be expected. Jasper is charming the pants off of my mom, so that's great..." I muttered. I hated this feeling I always got whenever I was in the same room as my mom and other people for extended periods of time. Especially when they were supposed to be 'my' people.

" _Is he ignoring you? God! You want me to kick his ass? Because I totally will. I have a few theories as to how it would be possible."_

"You know it, babe... Mom just has that knack, you know? She draws people in and that leaves me usually with nothing."

If it had been anyone else, I would've tried to act more put together and not like a jealous, spoiled brat. But this was Angela, the one person I trusted above all else. She always had my back, she always understood and she always remembered to tell me she loved me. There was no point in lying to a person who knew absolutely everything about me and my really long list of insecurities.

" _That's no excuse, honey. He was supposed to be there for you. That was the deal, remember? He's supposed to be helping you stay sane. Do you want me to come over?"_

"Yes." I said simply. I hugged my knees with my free hand and felt so small.

" _But I can't, right? Ariel would never let it fly. She would make your life even more miserable."_

Oh how right she was. Angela was always right. That little spawn of the devil would do such a big number on it and that would no doubt expose the entire fake boyfriend contract. It wouldn't be that far-fetched to say I would die if that happened. My family was made of people who were kind of like religious nuts. I would most likely suffer some horrible accident. Maybe even at the hands of my own mother.

"I hate this. Remind me again why I'm still doing all of this shit."

She did. She recalled every single argument we've ever had about my situation and all of the reasoning and rebuffals I had used over the years. I knew Angela hated this maybe even more than I did, but she also was a logical person and understood perfectly why I still chose to live this way.

"Thanks, I needed that. Listen, I have to go. Talk to you tonight?"

" _Sorry, El. I have a very romantic study date with Eric tonight. I don't know how late we'll be at it. Tomorrow?"_

"Yeah. I think I can survive until tomorrow. Bye, Ang."

I ended the phone call and took a few deep breaths. I wiped the sneaky tears away from my cheeks and checked to see if my makeup was still perfect. I blew my nose and marched back into the dining hall with a cheery smile on my face.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry about that. Girl emergency. I hope my mom behaved?" I asked and burrowed myself into Jasper's side. His arm went around me and he pulled me tighter into him. I looked up to see his face looking all sorts of tense. He then looked down at me and gave on of those too charming smiles that made goosebumps rise all around my body.

"Don't worry about it, lil' darling." He said and placed a quick kiss on the tip of my nose.

The power of swooning was dangerous. Fuck I was in trouble.

000

I threw myself to the bed and kicked my high heels far away from me. That was a nightmare. The lunch had been so horrible! The whole event left a bad taste to my mouth and even Jasper's surprise kissing did nothing to lighten up my mood.

Jasper closed the cabin door and sat down on the bed next to me.

"Hey, I'm sorry about what happened earlier." He said in a deliciously low voice.

"What do you mean?" I asked, pretending to be all oblivious. Of course shit had happened, but Jasper wasn't supposed to know that. Had I not put on a good show? I thought it had been an Oscar worthy act on my part.

"You were upset about something. I could feel it."

Fuck... I had totally forgotten that Jasper had superpowers... it wasn't like he hadn't told me about them like two hours ago or anything... This was exactly why I needed to write everything down!

"It was nothing... I just, really don't like family reunions." I tried to gloss over the whole situation. I didn't think Jasper would be too interested in having a heart-to-heart about my problems. They were numerous and going through them would take time. Like, really long time. We would be sitting here until the end of the wedding. Which, you know, wasn't the worst idea ever. In fact, it was really tempting.

"I also heard you on the phone. I didn't mean to, but I overheard everything."

I closed my eyes to desperately try and reign in the all too familiar feeling of me losing control over my fury. He eavesdropped? How did he fucking dare? My conversations with Angela were private! Okay, so I had blundered with the whole nipple hair incident, but that was way different than someone listening in on private conversations!

"Look, I can feel you getting angry at me. I'm sorry. There are things I'm not able to control about myself. I tried to focus on something else, but vampire brains don't work like that. Blocking out my surroundings is very difficult and even after practising it for over a 100 years, I'm still relatively inept at it." He said hurriedly.

"Fuck..." I whined, trying to swallow down my anger. It wasn't his fault. I admittedly knew next to nothing about Jasper, but nothing about him had caused me to not trust him. Well, except the whole 'trying to choke the life out of me' situation, but I'd like to think that happened before we bonded.

I had decided to put that past me, at least until he did something like that again. I had to. I couldn't very well go throwing myself at him while simultaniously fearing that he was going to murder me in my sleep.

"Do you want to talk about it?" He asked. Goddamn he sounded so sweet! It was so unfair! Why did he have to be a gentleman? I groaned. Might as well. It would do me some good to talk to someone about this before dinner. Besides, I would need Jasper tomorrow when it wasn't socially acceptable to hide in our cabin.

I drew my knees tightly to my knees and pushed myself against the headboard of the bed. Jasper scooted back on the bed so he could sit next to me. Our sides were touching lightly. It felt nice. Safe.

"My mom always makes me feel like I'm worthless piece of shit."

That summed up the root of most of my problems neatly. Jasper let out a shaky little sigh and brought his arm around my shoulders and pulled me tighter against him. Fucking hell that felt good. I guessed he felt what I was feeling. Maybe this whole empath thing could be useful after all.

"Was I overdoing it? I decided to go with the whole 'boyfriend tries to get along with his girlfriend's parents' thing. It wasn't my intention to leave you out of the conversation as well."

He was being so fucking sincere and caring. His scent surrounded me and the stress started melting away from me. For a brief second I wondered if he was using his magic mojo to calm me down, but I disregarded that thought. He clearly wasn't in the business of violating my rights to my own person. He really was nothing like Creepward.

"Angela says I'm too insecure and have no self confidence. I think she's right. So it probably wasn't as much about you as it was about me."

His chin came to rest against the top of my head and despite him being slightly cooler than your average human being, I actually felt all warm and fuzzy. And hey, for once I didn't want to fuck his brains out! So, you know, that's a plus.

"She did seem to put you down awfully lot. Is she always like that?" He asked. I closed my eyes and breathed in deep his sweet scent. It was so yummy and comforting.

"My entire family is like that. You noticed how there were no singles present at the lunch?" I figured it was time he found out why I had blackmailed him into being my date in the first place. Sharing is caring and all that good stuff.

"Now that you mention it, that was rather odd."

"There has never been anyone in my family that hadn't had a significant other by the time they are like 15 or something. Mom and dad started going out when she was eight. Brody started panting after Faye when he was 13. Ariel and Justin have been together since they were in middle school."

"Okay, that's definitely weird..." Jasper said softly and I could almost see him frowning. His thumb started making little circles on my forearm. It felt pleasantly tingly. He was really good at comforting people.

"Yeah, and then there's the little old me. Almost 16 and never had a boyfriend. My mom and dad hate that. They hate me. I'm pretty sure they regret ever having me. You know, they only decided to have another child because it cemented their 'all American family' image." I said, being completely honest. There really wasn't any point in lying to someone who could pick up on your true feelings at the drop of a hat. And it was really therapeutic to talk about these things.

"You can't possibly think that. I'm sure your family loves you."

It was a beautiful sentinent, but so very wrong. I smiled sadly and squeezed my legs tighter.

"Brody does. At least a little. But my mom and my dad? I don't think they are even capable of loving anyone else than each other. They approve of Brody because he has a fiance and he's pretty successful over all, but I don't think they love him either. Brody knows that too."

Jasper was quiet for a long time. I don't know if he was giving me some figurative space or if he was busy trying to figure out what I was telling him. Either way, I let him be quiet and just breathed in his calming scent. He really should think about bottling it and selling to nerve-wracks like me. I would say he'd get filthy rich doing that, but he really didn't need any more money. Maybe as a charity thing? That would work.

"I'm sorry I doubted your motives when you asked me to be your date. I was very wrong and I feel horrible for thinking the worst about you. Can you forgive me?"

That explained so much and it was completely not surprising. Most people couldn't even imagine that a family like mine would exist, let alone be able to wrap their heads around that. Of course he had thought I was some kind of desperate hussy who just wanted to get it on with a rich, sexy vampire.

Well, to be honest, I kind of did want that. Who wouldn't? Jasper was like a walking catnip to me and goddamn I wanted to rub myself all over him. Good thing I could blame all of that on him being a supernatural being who seemed to just ooze sex appeal. Otherwise this whole thing would be even more awkward than it already was.

"Yeah, you're forgiven. Thanks for doing this."

"It's my pleasure, Ella."

And my hormones found their way back again, attacking me full blast. Couldn't this thing be over already?!

* * *

Author's Final Notes:

Phew, I was starting to doubt my ability to finish this chapter before the week is over, but I did it. One would think that my lack of social life would give me plenty of time to focus on my writing, but alas, I'm a master at procrastinating. Writing this, and more importantly, publishing this continues to give me a good kick on my ass so I'll close that Netflix tab and do something productive with my free time!

But, let us get into more important things. Thank you all for still tuning in to this hot mess. I truly appreciate it greatly! And thank you to all you lovely people who are willing to spend a little extra time to comment on my 'master piece'. Give yourselves a round of applause!

Okay, we shall see if I manage to keep this staggering pace of publishing up. The next chapter will hopefully be ready for your eyes in a few days... I'll see you all there!


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8: The Hiking Extravaganza**

* * *

"Can we not go? I'm not hungry." I whined through the bathroom door to Jasper. I looked myself in the mirror and grimaced. Pretty much anything was better than going out there.

I just knew that dinner would be horrible. How could it not? I had managed to surprise Ariel so she had no opportunity to try and destroy me during lunch, but now she had no doubt spent the last 6 hours coming up with a plan to make my life miserable. She was a vicious bitch and she got off from my suffering.

It was safer here in this small, poorly lit bathroom. I just wanted to stay right here and look at my beautiful face in the mirror. Try and build my confidence back up before my family tore it all down again.

"It's going to be okay. I'll stay with you the entire time."

Look at him being all chivalrous. It was obvious that he was going to be with me the entire fucking time. There was no way I was going to give an opening to any of those fucking vultures.

I stared at myself. The lighting was horrible, but I had done my best to work with it. My hair was down in soft waves and I had a pink rose shaped hairpin attached above my left ear. I kept my make up relatively subtle to go with my white dress. The only dramatic thing was my fake lashes, and they made my eyes pop.

I looked good. I looked damn good! But that didn't meant that I wanted to go out there to be seen and judged by my relatives. Or heaven forbid, my mother.

I was surprised that she hadn't stormed in to our cabin yet, but I guess she was busy with driving Faye insane. Her big plan was to announce the engagement to the family during dinner, so Faye had to be perfect. There couldn't be one single hair out of place.

Thank god Faye had been stupid and naive enough to come. She just bought me an extra day of staying under the radar. I obviously wouldn't be unnoticed entirely, not with Jasper there with me, but I wouldn't hopefully be the main attraction tonight.

"You don't understand. She's evil, Jasper. Pure fucking evil."

"...which one are you referring to?"

Fair point. I could count the beareable relatives I had with one hand. Cousin Lydia and Brody. And Brody was stretching it a little. He had his good moments... sometimes.

"I just know she's going to do something horrible..."

I felt sick. My stomach was knotting up and I wanted to cry. Curl up into a ball and stay there until Sunday.

"I can hear your brother and Faye walking this way. Are you ready to come out?"

Did he have to sound so fucking sweet and supportive? It was so damn tempting to walk out of this safe haven and into the hell that awaited just beyond that door with him saying stuff like that. But it would be a horrible mistake.

The front door of our cabin opened and I could hear my brother's loud steps all the way to my sanctuary.

"Is she holed up in there?" Brody asked.

I did not appreciate the indication that I was hiding or something. I was just having a little me-time. I definitely was not having a nervous breakdown. No way.

"It's been an hour already. She won't come out until I promise that we can stay in the cabin."

What a snitch. And such an over-exaggeration. I had not been 'holed up' in the bathroom for an hour. I had been getting ready for an hour while in the bathroom, but that's completely different. It's not my fault that doing my hair and make up takes time. Jasper was just lucky that I hadn't decided to take a shower in between lunch and dinner.

"Hey idiot, get out of there already!" Brody yelled at me. It was easy for that bastard to be so fucking confident. He wasn't the fucking black sheep. Ariel didn't hate him, at least not as much as she hated me. He didn't have mom hounding over him trying to push him into Jasper's arms.

"But I'm not hungry!"

What? Temper tantrums worked for little kids, so why wouldn't they work for me too? It never hurt to try.

"Either you come out or I'll break down the door and tell Aunt Hannah that it was you."

Fucking bastard. There was just no sibling loyalty in him.

"Fine! I'm coming out..."

000

I fucking knew it. Ariel Reagan was the Devil reincarnated. I looked at our assigned table and I wanted to run away. Jasper had his arm wrapped around my shoulders and he was applying enough pressure to keep me right there. I kind of hated his vampire strenght. It was cheating.

We were seated with Granny May, the evil bitch-monster from hell herself, _her Justin_ and my cousin Harry and his wife Elena, both of whom I hated. Elena and Ariel were besties, so she was nearly as bad as the bane of my existance.

"I can make you feel calm and confident, if you'd like. Just say the word." Jasper whispered into my ear. His whispers did strange things to my body. It suddenly got 20 degrees warmer in the room and my eyes may have rolled back. If I asked him nicely, would he be willing to see if he could give me an orgasm by just using his voice...?

And it was really sweet of him to offer his help. And give me the opportunity to decline. It was so great to see a person who didn't abuse their power.

"Thanks for offering, but no. I know I'm a hot mess, but I want to feel my real emotions."

The very thought of someone controlling my emotions made me uncomfortable. I mean, sure it would come in handy if I ever got caught in a hostage situation or something like that, but my every day anxiety and overflowing feelings? A hard pass.

Jasper helped me into my seat again and Granny May was staring at him like he was a piece of meat. Eww, Granny May was eyeing my boyfriend... It was so wrong and so fucking gross!

"It's great to see you again, Granny May." I said, plastering a fake smile on my face and pretending that everything was just fine and dandy. Like she hadn't ruined my life by creating this fucking family.

She was so scary-looking. She didn't look a day over 60 years old. You know, like a 60 year old who was sweating botox and collagen and whose skin was stretched so far back that her previously round brown eyes looked like almonds. Still, it was an incredible feat from a woman who was in her late 80's.

Her heavily dyed brown hair was in a tight bun and I wondered if she had finally moved to wearing wigs. There was no way in hell that a bat this old would have such luscious locks. Her tightened up face didn't let the corners of her lips drop down, but the coldness in her eyes made it perfectly clear that she was frowning. And she said nothing.

Ariel was smirking at my discomfort. What a fucking bitch.

"Everyone, this is my boyfriend Jasper."

It was so messed up. I never liked it when Granny May said something to me, but it was almost worse when she ignored me. It made me feel like I was unworthy of her time.

"It's good to meet you Jasper. I was starting to fear that our Ella would become a spinster when she always showed up to family gatherins alone." Cousin Harry said. His stupid wife let out a fake giggle like Harry had just told the world's funniest joke.

Jasper took a hold of my hand under the table and gave it a gentle squeeze. Holy shit. There goes my heart again. Jasper Hale clearly didn't need to use his magic powers to make me feel better. That was going to come in handy during this weekend.

"I like to think that she was simply waiting for me to sweep her off of her feet."

So. Fucking. Smooth.

I was swooning. Thank god I was sitting down because my legs were useless. I looked up at him and gave him a smile. I didn't even have to fake it, or the googly eyes.

This shit was dangerous to my emotional well-being. Falling in love with Jasper Hale was not a fucking option.

"So, I've noticed there aren't that many faces in the crowd that I don't recognize. Are your friends unable to join us for the entire four days, Ariel?" I asked.

Ariel's face turned angry red and I couldn't help the satisfied smirk that appeared on my face. I knew exactly why there weren't that many strangers at the venue. Who in their right mind would be friends with someone like Ariel?! She couldn't conceal the smell of rot within her.

And it wasn't like _her Justin_ was the type of person who was popular. I was willing to bet that whatever friends he ever had, Ariel had driven them away. She was so fucking toxic that nobody wanted to deal with her.

"It's just... very busy time in their lives..." She mumbled.

I bet it was a busy time for anyone who had ever associated with Ariel. I would make myself busy too, if coming to this shit show had been a choice and not a direct order from my mother.

The waiters brought out the dinner plates. I looked at the juicy piece of steak that was steaming in front of me. Fuuuuuck it had been a long time since I last ate a steak. If I remember correctly, I didn't even have boobs back then.

"So, tell me a little about yourself, young man."

Holy shit! The mummy spoke! IT'S ALIVE!

...was it too late to go back to that blessed time when Granny May didn't say anything?

000

I woke up, finding myself draped all over Jasper's still body. The TV was on, making a really quiet voice. He was propped up against the head of the bed and running his hand through my hair. It was like a scene straight from my private fantasies, of which he had incidently become the main star.

The dinner had been... bearable. And by that I mean it had been horrible, but not as bad as it was bound to get at some point. Jasper had been my rock and saving grace during the entire three-hour affair. He was courteous to my relatives, chatted up Granny May like an expert, and kept his attention on me the entire time. I appreciated that like no one's business.

"Morning." I mumbled, taking a firm grip of my sleep addled brain and deciding that I would not freak out or get any funny ideas about our closeness. I knew I was a sleep cuddler. Angela hated sleeping in the same bed with me since she was a person who couldn't really relax if someone was touching her all the time. We really did make a perfect pair of besties.

"Good morning. Did you sleep well?" He asked, all casual and sexily southern. My mind went to him whispering dirty things into my ear with that drawl. Bad Ella! Mind out of the gutter! I had to once again remind myself that he was a bloodsucking vampire in a committed relationship and it wasn't appropriate to use him as a sex object to fuel my fantasies.

"Yeah. Real talk, do I snore?"

What? A girl needs to know! Angela always says I snore like a lumberjack, but then again, she likes to talk shit about me. Jasper laughed and my god it felt wonderful. I rolled my eyes. I foresaw a cold shower in my near future. Maybe it would knock my hormones out of balance or something.

"No, but you do drool. Just a little." He said with an illegally sexy smirk and pointed a faintly dark spot on his chest. Well, that was embarrassing. I started making a mental list of all the people who had seen me sleeping. Maybe that was the reason none of the guys at school wanted to date me? I fell asleep often enough during class and nobody wanted a slobbering monster as their girlfriend. That explained so much!

"I didn't mind. You kept me more entertained than the night chat on TV."

"You couldn't sleep?" I asked, rubbing my eyes and feeling my skin situation. I needed to put a mask on. My skin was feeling a little dry around my cheeks. Jasper gave me another cheeky, bordering on smug, smirk.

"And here I thought you had us vampires all figured out. We don't sleep."

"Oh my god! I'm so sorry! The undead life must be so boring!" I gasped out, eyes round and wide. A life without sleeping? That was just wrong. Oh, the humanity! Thank god for being mortal!

Jasper laughed again. Like really laughed. Belly-deep and all. It was the single most human thing I had ever seen him do. My heart did one of those little flips that were beginning to get annoying. Falling in love with Jasper Hale had never been part of the plan, and I would do my damnest to keep it that way. Nothing good would come from those thoughts.

"Well, I'm glad you find me that amusing."

"Where have you been all of my life, Ella Johnson?"

Mmmh... I quickly pictured those words being said to me by Jasper in a vastly different scenario. One where we were both naked and sweaty and he was out of his fake breath. I guiltily placed that fantasy into my spank bank for later use. I needed to have a girl's night with my friends. I was in a dire need of some Ryan Gosling to exorcise Jasper out of my system.

I picked up my phone and checked the time before groaning and burrowing my face into Jasper's chest. I had to get up and start making myself pretty for breakfast. I did not want to think about the upcoming day with the Devil's spawn.

Ariel, in her infinite suckiness, had declared that she wanted to hang with her generation of the family, which meant everyone aged 13 to 25. We were supposed to go hiking. Something I would never want to do with Ariel anywhere near by. I could hardly wait.

"Can we say we're too busy screwing each other's brains out to bother with the schedule?" I whined, wrapping my body around him like a sloth.

"I specifically remember you making me promise to get you out of the cabin yesterday. It's just a few hours." He said, patting my back in mocking way.

"Ugh, fine!"

000

Now that I think about it, I really should go out hiking with Ariel more often. This might've been the best day of my life.

Ariel was not meant for walking on anything else than paved, even roads. She was stumbling around like a newborn deer. I was gleefully waiting for that one moment where her ankle would twist and hopefully break. Or maybe she would fall off of a cliff or something. A girl can dream.

"You know, if I wasn't a vampire, I would be scared of you." Jasper whispered into my ear, bringing delicious shivers to my spine. How was he doing this to me?!

"I surely have no idea what you mean." I said snottily, pulling his arm around my shoulders.

I looked around and I had to admit that it was beautiful. Green, misty and kind of magical. You know, until you looked closer and saw all the little critters destroying a perfectly beautiful place. Ugh, nature... so not my thing.

Butterflies were the only insects that I could stand, and even those I preferred to keep their distance. They looked gross as fuck up close. Kind of like Ariel, now that I think of it.

"Hey, I already told you I would kill her if you asked me to, so no judgement!"

Fuck, there he goes again, tempting me. It was so hard to be a decent person when a vampire promises to kill your nemesis. It would be so easy. We were in the middle of the woods. He could toss her over a cliff. Tear her limbs into bite sized bits and say the animals got to her before us. It would be the perfect crime. Brody would never talk, Faye would follow his lead... My numerous cousins wouldn't shed any tears over Ariel either. Well, Harry and Elena might, but Jasper could threaten them with violence...

We arrived to a clearing that had a little pond. It seemed to ooze coldness. My mind went immediately to a fantasy in which I pushed Ariel into it and watched her freeze to death. My god it would be glorious.

Brody, being the idiot that he was, tossed his clothes away from his gross body and jumped head-first into the pond. I shuddered, just imagining how fucking cold that shit was. There was no way I would follow my idiotic older brother anyway near that pond.

"You do know you're marrying an idiot, right?" I asked Faye who was sitting next to me.

"Yeah, but he's a hot idiot."

Disgusting. Faye had a terrible taste in men. Seriously, Brody? He's a pig!

"Eww. What's the situation with the booze?"

Brody was supposed to break into the booze storage and steal us a bottle or five so we could survive our relatives without going crazy in the process. He was supposed to do some recon after dinner had been served.

"Brody says it's going to be impossible until tomorrow when Ariel's birthday party is in full swing. You know, after the staff has left and your aunt Hannah is completely wasted."

"I can't believe he told you his plans. I know you don't approve."

Faye was the straightest of edges. She didn't think it was appropriate for Brody to drink while he was underaged and she especially didn't approve him hooking his sister up.

"I don't, but I understand. I don't like it, but I understand."

Faye was awesome. I'll never understand why she settled for a loser like Brody. It had to be one of life's biggest mysteries.

"Hey, I think one of Ariel's lackies is staring at you..." Faye whispered.

Fucking hell. The girl had an amazing set of eyes.

"Fucking vultures... It's like they are just waiting for us to slip up..." I groaned.

Jasper suddenly slid between my open legs and sat down on the forest floor. He leaned his head into my lap and my God! My body was suddenly on fire. How embarrassing! I mean, vampires were supposed to have super senses, right? There was absolutely no way he didn't notice the sudden dampness found in my panties.

I had to give props to his acting. He looked completely unfazed, just gazed upwards at me with this most adorable puppy-eyed look.

"Think I could get a massage, Darlin'?"

Goodbye my ovaries. I will miss you dearly. Faye giggled into her hand, and I just knew my face was all sorts of red at the moment. That wouldn't do. I quickly glanced around to see if anyone else had seen my flustered face.

She-Devil and her unfortunate fiance were too busy making googly-eyes to notice, thank god. Ariel sticking her surgically altered nose into my fake relationship was the last thing I needed. I really had to pull it together. Fuck. Why couldn't I just risk Lauren's wrath and bring Tyler with me? This was not good for my heart. Or my ovaries.

I decided to grab a hold of my metaphorical testicles and push all of my awkwardness away. It could wait until I was in the privacy of my own room. I dipped my fingers into Jasper's magnificent golden mane and by GOD it felt good. Smooth as Italian silk and soft like a baby's bottom! I had to learn his hair secrets. I could literally kill for a hair like that.

It was a bit alarming to realize how easily I could be persuaded to kill someone. Did it mean that I was a psycopath? If so, I was blaming my mother. She could drive anyone to commit murder.

"Honey! Come warm me up..." Brody yelled from the pond. Faye rolled her pretty eyes and grinned.

"Duty calls. The things we do for our boyfriends, right?"

"I'll still love you even if you finally get smart enough to dump his sorry ass." I said and watched as she got up and practically ran to Brody's side.

Ariel let out a horrible screech. She threw her hands up and started flailing around.

"What's her problem?" I was thoroughly enjoying her suffering. It was only fair when she was the one who had dragged us out here.

"There's a bee in her hair." Jasper said softly.

Okay wow, it sounded like he was really enjoying himself. Tummy tingles were back in full blast and I think I was blushing. It was so fucking stupid. Why was I having a reaction to him looking so pleased?

Also, blessed be all the fucking bees in the world. Long may they reign and hopefully they would sting Ariel for the rest of her life. Fucking bitch...

I wrinkled my brow a little when I touched Jasper's forehead. His skin felt colder than it had during our morning cuddling. And fuck yes, I could actually say that I cuddled with Jasper Hale. Anyway, back to the matter at hand.

I could've easily discounted his cold skin for being in this cold-ass weather, if not for the fact that his skin felt harder too. It had been almost pliable yesterday and now it was feeling more and more unyielding. I gently pushed my finger against his forehead and frowned when the skin didn't dent at all.

I wracked my brain through my Cullens Collection as I kept rubbing his head. I was pretty sure I had written something down about their skin...

"What are you thinking so hard about, lil' darling?" Jasper said, his voice octave lower than before. Fuck, it sounded like his potential sex voice. At least, that's what my dirty, dirty mind connected it to immediately. Oh, to be able to hear his sex voice... Damn that Alice was one lucky bastard.

"Are you... hungry? You feel colder." I whispered out, careful not to let anyone hear me. I let my fingers travel down to his cheeks, the potential meaty part of his face. No denting there either. Okay, so Jasper was chiselled and his cheeks were delightfully sharp, but EVERYONE had little something soft on their cheeks.

Jasper raised his eyebrow and let out a throaty chuckle that went straight to... somewhere that was not my brain. The sexy bastard was clearly trying to distract me from the subject, and by God it was working beautifully. I was so over this hormonal overdrive.

"Not really. I could eat, but I'm not feeling even slightly peckish, sweetheart. It's another few days until I have to hunt again. You don't have to worry about it."

Ah, so he wasn't trying to distract me. Maybe. He clearly enjoyed making me feel all hot and bothered. Probably boosted his ego nicely. I will continue to claim that my attraction to him was simply physical and the result of his unnatural sex appeal. Never mind that Creepward and Emmett didn't cause similar feelings in me. Two out of four was pretty good. Not to mention how hot Rosalie was. Maybe they just needed to be blonde vampires?

"Well, not to be a nagging girlfriend, but people are going to notice if your eyes change pitch black and your skin turns ice cold and stony. Isn't that what happens to vampires?" I asked, waving to Faye who had attached herself to my freezing and dripping excuse of a brother.

"We'll follow you in a bit!" I called out a little louder so the group could hear me. Jasper played the part perfectly and nuzzled into my inner thigh. I was in so much fucking trouble. I wanted to have this conversation, but I wasn't a hundred percent sure if I could trust my body if I was left alone with Jasper at the moment. Fuck, what if I tried to jump his bones? He'd turn me down in an instant and then this whole affair would be even more awkward and horrible.

Brody snorted into Faye's neck and followed Ariel and her group of side bitches. I guess everyone bought that we wanted to have some alone time to get naughty. Man, I wish...

"I never thought about humans noticing the difference in my appearance before."

That didn't surprise me at all. The Cullens were HORRIBLE at pretending to be humans. Their eyes changed colour all willy-nilly. I swear half of our school just believed that they were wearing contacts for shits and giggles. And I had been feeling up Jasper enough to know that he let his skin become hard like a marble. The Cullens had to be fucking experts in avoiding human contact because I think every single human in Forks could tell the difference between a human hand and a fucking statue.

"Maybe you should start. I mean, don't you want to pass as a human?"

Jasper hummed and closed his beautiful eyes. He looked so fucking satisfied that my mind went to the gutter again. Hell, who could blame me? I had his head between my thighs! Now if only we weren't in a forest and wearing workout clothes...

"You know, this is sort of fun. I was dreading this weekend, but I'm quite enjoying myself." Jasper said.

Fucking hell. I might actually agree with him. Okay, so I hated being here and I wanted to get the fuck away from my relatives, but so far it had been... not the worst. Maybe even a little bit fun. Like, for a hot second.

Jasper was my saving grace. He performed his fake boyfriend duties with perfection. I also liked being around my stupid brother when we formed an united front. At home he was just your regular asshole, but when the Johnson kids were out gunned and left for dead... we fucking made it work.

Still, I couldn't just go around and admit it, right? I mean, what would Jasper think? Probably that I had conned him into this whole thing. My family, as awful as they were, had put on their best act in front of Jasper. To keep him from bailing in the middle of the celebration. Jasper didn't understand why this was so horrible.

"Well, I'm glad one of us is enjoying themselves. You're going to need your positive attitude tonight."

And oh boy, Jasper Hale was going to have the surprise of his life. It was the rehearsal dinner and that meant drinking. So much drinking... If he thought my relatives were iffy when they were sober and actively playing roles, he was about to have his fucking mind blown.

Like they say; the truth will out!

* * *

Author's Final Notes:

Well, I had a busy week. I was hoping to get this done earlier, but work and other real life stuff got in the way. Kids, enjoy your youth while you can. Life only gets suckier after school. I'm not entirely satisfied with this chapter, but at some point you just have to let go and hit that 'submit' button. The next one will hopefully be a little better, at least for me.

I'll try my hardest to get the next chapter out around Sunday-Monday. No promises, though!

Things are about to get interesting for Ella and Jasper. There may or may not be a close call with death. Ooooh, dramatic!

And yet another thank you for you awesome people who continue to waste your precious time reading this. You guys really are the good sort!


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9: Granny May VS Jasper**

* * *

I would've loved nothing better than just stay at the clearing with Jasper and forget all about the rest of our group. Forgetting Ariel was like my favorite past time, so I would've been all for it. Unfortunately it was her big day and that bitch was not above tattling to her mommy that big bad Ella was being a meanie to her. So we were back with the group, listening the spawn of Satan droning on and on about her glamorous life.

"And we are planning to start our building project on June..."

Oh my fucking god, please just kill me. Ariel just couldn't stop talking about her fucking picture perfect future with her dull-as-fuck fiance and their 2.5 future children. Just the thought of Ariel spawning made me want to vomit. Some people just shouldn't procreate for the good of humanity.

Fuck, even Elena looked bored out of her mind. And since I was pretty sure that Elena was actually a robot without a free will of her own or emotions really, that was a true testament to how disgusting it was to listen to Ariel.

"Didn't she already tell us about the housing project an hour ago?" Jasper said quietly. He offered me his hand and helped me get over a tree that had fallen on the hiking path. What a gentleman.

I guess it was convenient that he was born in the olden days. Chivalry was dead in my generation so it was a treat to have someone like Jasper around.

"Be prepared to hear it at least three more times before this trip is over. The she-devil loves the sound of her own voice. And it's not like she's got anything of substance to say so she gives us the 'Ariel's Greatest Hits' every few hours."

There was a slight chance that my voice had been really sour. And a little more loud than I intended.

Ariel looked over her shoulder and fucking glared at me.

"Do you have a problem with me?" She demanded to know. What, did she want a list? I could give her a long one.

Brody rolled his eyes and pulled Faye away from the group. I heard him mutter something along the lines 'here we go again' as he walked away.

Fucking rude. And cowardly. Where was the sibling love?

Just grin and bear it, Ella. Mom will kill you if you make a scene...

"I asked you a question! What, are you deaf or just brainless?!"

Oh hell no. Did she actually just try to sass me? Bitch, it was on...

"Excuse me, don't look at me with those dead fish-eyes. Who knows if your fucking soullessness is contagious." I put my hands on my hips and tried to stare that demon spawn down.

Ariel sputtered like she couldn't believe I had the balls to challenge her. Well, too bad for her, but our fucking parents were nowhere near us and while Granny May might've heard us with her bat ears, her old-ass legs couldn't carry her up the hiking trail.

"Maybe we should..."

Funnily enough, Jasper and Justin both said it in perfect sync. Justin grabbed a hold of Ariel's shoulder and Jasper tried to turn my body away with his hands on my waist. Well, I guess more accurate description would be that he was 'suggesting' that I walk away by holding my waist. It was real sweet of him to let me have a choice.

I obviously chose to continue. So did Ariel. She shrugged _her Justin's_ hand away and stepped into my personal space. Justin looked after her like a fucking lost puppy. I had to wonder if he had a mind of his own at all, or if Ariel had created him in the pits of hell to be her personal servant. I guess anything was possible with her.

"Excuse me?" She hissed out. Trying to tower over me. I think she forgot that she wasn't wearing sky-high heels and she was only three inches taller than me without them. She always pretended to be one of the 'tall' girls, but she was playing in the same little league as I was. Now she just looked pathetic. Confidence was a magnificent thing, but when you had nothing to back that confidence up with, it only made you look like an idiot.

"You heard me. Get your cheap plastic face out of mine."

How was it possible to hate someone this much? I was half tempted to ask Jasper to just fucking eat her alive. Or just tear her apart from limb to limb. There was a good chance that her blood would be just black goo anyway.

Ariel got even closer. Our noses were almost touching and I could smell the lipstick she was wearing. Honestly, who used flavored lipstick? Did Justin have some sort of artificial fruit fetish? I felt disgusted by just imagining that. Ariel's beady eyes narrowed. So did mine.

Bitch was going to get hurt if she didn't get out of my face. I squeezed my right hand into a fist. You know, just to be prepared.

"But how will I ever see you under this pile of rat shit if I'm not close to your face?" The fucking bitch thought she was soooo clever...

"Say one more thing about my freckles and I'll ruin your new nose."

"What, you'll model it after yours? That would indeed be a tragedy."

"Or maybe I'll just stick you with a needle so those fake tits will pop back to their natural size."

"Hah! You're one to talk, you saggy-tits!"

"SAGGY?! That's fucking it..."

Jasper caught my fist before it even had a chance to get close to Ariel's ugly face. He spun me around and fucking trapped me with his perfectly muscular arms. So fucking unfair.

He covered my mouth with his hand and then he started to slowly walk backwards. He was careful to make sure I stayed on my feet the entire time, but he was also applying enough force that it was useless for me to try and get out. Stupid vampires and their supernatural strenght...

And here I was praising him for letting me make my own mistakes... I mean choices. Make my own choices. I knew I would regret this eventually, but it felt so fucking good in the moment. I was all about that instant gratification.

"I think it's best if we separate here." Jasper said. I couldn't see his handsome face, but he did sound apologetic.

Justin was holding Ariel down. He nodded to Jasper and I was a little creeped out that the two of them were in the same frequency. If they decided to become buddies, I was going to run away from Forks and never come back. That was a stuff of nightmares.

"Yes, I agree. We'll see you two later..." Justin mumbled and bodily dragged the hell's spawn away. She tried to mumble something from under Justin's hand. I was screaming into Jasper's hand. He took it like a champ. Not a difficult thing to do since he was a fucking vampire.

Jasper man-handled me away from the group. I swear I could hear Brody's annoying laugh. Let him. And then one day when he least expects it, I will have my revenge...

000

We stopped after a good 15 minutes of brisk walking. I was bitching about Ariel the entire time and Jasper was being a sport by letting me. I'm sure he couldn't care less about my problems with my cow of a cousin, but he was excellent at pretending. Or who knew, maybe he had a gossip-hungry drama queen trapped inside of his yummy body?

"Do you think I have saggy boobs?"

What? I was only a human and Ariel's shitty remarks about my boobs nibbled at my confidence. I mean, my boobs were big and the bigger your boobs were, the more they sagged.

Jasper froze. It would've been hilarious, except that he did it so suddenly that I walked straight into him. And fell on my beautiful ass on the mossy ground. Fucking great. Now I had wet pants for boring reasons and not because Jasper was turning me on. Jasper was too shocked to help me up, so I pushed myself off of the ground quickly and tried to see the damage while waiting for his answer.

"Uh..."

"You do, don't you? Oh my god, I have Granny boobs!"

I always thought they were pretty nice and firm. Had I been wrong? Shit! I was going to be alone forever. Nobody wanted a girl with granny boobs.

How much would Ariel mock me if I got myself a boob job as well? I had just insulted her plastic boobs. Would she ever let me live it down? Doubtful. She was such a spiteful bitch.

"You don't have Granny... uh, can we change the subject? Please?"

Hell no. This shit was important. I needed to know if I would have to tell my mom to book an appointment.

Wait, wouldn't mom have mentioned it if I had saggy boobs? Like, constantly? The same way she nagged about my nose or my hair or my clothes...

I took a handful of boobies in each of my hands and gave them a gentle squeeze. Huh. They didn't feel saggy at all. Nice and firm, just like I remembered them. But I could be wrong. I didn't go around squeezing other girls breasts, so I couldn't be sure that they weren't considered saggy by everyone else.

But luckily I was with someone who had probably squeezed boobs in his life.

"Squeeze my boobs and tell me if they are saggy."

Aaand those words just came out of my mouth. Yeah, there was no way either of us could unheard that gem.

"Shit! Just ignore me, okay? I told you I'm fucked up!" I wailed and turned my no doubt really red face away from him. I needed a moment. Or ten.

I could hear Jasper shuffling his feet awkwardly. It was so sad that his humanity came to the forefront when I did something incredibly stupid. Like ask a guy with a girlfried to grope me.

"Ella, you are beautiful. You should have more confidence in your appearance." He said quietly after a moment of awkward silence.

My face heated up for an entirely different reason. He really had a way to make me feel so fucking special. He thought I was beautiful. His words made me feel like when mom told me I was beautiful, except 10 times better.

Right. No falling in love with the vampire, Ella. Focus on something else. I did not want to become a horny, lovesick mess right now.

I went to sit on a big rock and Jasper sat down next to me. I took deep breaths to cleanse my mind from Ariel's toxic influence. I shouldn't listen to that monster's words in the first place. Hell, it wasn't even a good insult! 'Saggy-tits'. What was she, 12?

"This is better. You are nicer to be around when you are not suffocating from your fears and doubts." He said with a relaxed sigh.

"Yeah, sorry about that. You can just run away when it gets too much, you know. I know how to handle my shit by myself."

Liar liar pants on fire. I was a mess and everyone fucking knew it. But I liked to pretend that I was strong enough or put together enough to handle my own problems. You know, as long as Angela was around to save me from myself...

"Hey, I promised to stay by your side for the entire wedding. I'm a man of my word and it's my duty as your date to protect you... even if it is from your own personal demons."

Okay, did he really have to be so fucking smooth? He was making this 'not falling in love' thing so damn difficult.

000

The shitstorm began as soon as the wedding venue was back in our sights. Granny May was standing in front of the main building with Ariel, that snivelling little bitch, right next to her. She had the fucking nerve to whine about my behavior! I was in so much trouble... How long had they been standing there? We had separated from the group over an hour ago.

I knew a fair share of intimidating women. My mother, aunt Gloria, Lauren, Rosalie... but no one was as intimidating as Granny May. Her cold, dead eyes could make a grown man weep. In fact, Granny May was famous for making over the half of the family's men cry like little babies in front of everyone. Even my dad had suffered that fate. It was one of my most beautiful childhood memories.

What did she know? That smug smile on her face scared me so fucking much.

"Holy fuck. This is bad..." I gasped out in the most high-pitched whine you could possibly imagine. Jasper actually winced a little. Okay, it was not my fault that the old hag scared me shitless! I had to deal with her, Jasper could deal with my shrieking.

"I'm sure it's nothing, Ella."

Oh, he was so naive.

"Okay, whatever you do, don't lose it. Someone will notice if you kill all of my relatives. Just remain calm and... don't say anything."

Now, I knew that Granny May would find nothing wrong with Jasper. That meant that she was going to dig into me. It was nothing new. I think stomping my tattered self-esteem into dust was her way of relieving stress. Old people had to get their jollies somehow.

It was just that I had experienced Jasper's temper. I had the bruises to prove it. I was pretty sure that he would not be happy about what's going to happen. At least I kind of hoped he wouldn't be. I sure as hell thought that we had bonded.

"If you say so..."

I took a deep breath and squeezed Jasper's hand as hard as I could. My knuckles were white and my fingers hurt like hell. It was a better pain than the one I was sure to experience in a moment.

"Hey, Granny May." I said, plastering the fakest of fake smiles on my face and trying to keep my bladder in check.

"Ella."

How in the hell could she make just my name sound so scary? I stepped closer to Jasper, hiding partly behind him. He was the indestructable one. Let him protect me from this monster. That was his fucking job for this weekend. He said so himself!

"I was just telling Granny May all about how Aunt Marilyn never mentioned Jasper to my mother when they spoke on the phone last time." Ariel's nasal, disgusting voice made me shudder. There was literally bile burning in my throat. I hated her. I fucking hated Ariel with all of my being.

Jasper might've sensed that shit was about to hit the fan as he stepped fully in front of me and pushed me behind him. His cool hand squeezed my forearm gently, like he was ready to move me at a moment's notice. I pressed myself against his back and peeked at the horrible dusty mummy that was standing in front of us from behind his back. I was scared shitless, but having Jasper acting as my brave, indestructible knight did marvellous things to my mental health. I had the faintest hope that I might survive this upcoming attack alive. Jasper wouldn't let Granny May touch a hair on my beautiful head.

Too bad there was no way his arms could protect me from verbal attacks. You know, unless he killed Granny May and used her skull as a goblet to drink Ariel's blood from. A girl can always dream, right?

"Oh, really? I had no idea." I said weakly, not even pretending to be oblivious when that phone call had taken place. It was two weeks after I supposedly started dating Jasper. Mom would've been over the moon and called our entire family to brag about him. Except that she didn't know she was going to go around spinning a web of lies about my relationships in just a few weeks.

"I find this whole ordeal very suspicious, Ella. It seems very unlikely that you would have charmed young Mr. Hale here." Granny May said. I felt faint. Like, really faint. My knees wobbled and Jasper's grip on my arm was the only thing keeping me upright. He somehow found the dexterity to press me against his body so I was fully supported. I thanked god for him.

"What do you mean..?" I asked very, very carefully. Fake smile still intact. I was scared, my voice was trembling and I couldn't stand on my own. I was so going to get busted.

"You are showing some very bad manners, young lady. Come here and stop acting like a child." Granny May said in shrill voice. I panicked. Like really panicked. My mind shut down and my body started to move on its own. But I couldn't move. Jasper added a little more pressure to his grip on me and prevented me from doing what Granny May wanted. His back vibrated and I realised he was growling very quietly. Fuck. This was not going to end well...

"Surely you are not implying that I am a prostitute, ma'am?" Jasper said, his voice made of pure ice. I shivered, and for once it wasn't ONLY because I wanted to fuck him. Although I did want to do that too, very much. The mere thought of him getting so... riled up while defending me was really hot. But, it was really scary too, so the shiver was partly that.

"Oh, of course not. You are far too sophisticated to be a low-life escort. But, perhaps charity..."

Ariel sneered and Granny May looked down her nose at me. She didn't have to say anything more. It was impossible for someone like Jasper Hale to be in a relationship with a screw-up like me. My lip trembled and my eyes were starting to sting with tears.

She was right, of course, but I hated that she assumed it had to be fake because nobody would want me. Like I wasn't good enough to anyone. I craned my neck so I could see Jasper's face. His eyes were pitch black and he looked so angry when our eyes met. I couldn't be bothered to worry if Granny May or Ariel had seen the change in his eyes. I was more concerned about the incoming blood bath that was sure to happen soon.

"Looks certainly can be very deceiving. While I really am too sophisticated to be a prostitute or to do something like this for _charity_ , it seems that you are a vicious and miserable old witch with no manners, despite your appearance saying something completely different."

Oh. Shit.

My hand flew to my mouth to cover up the loud gasp I let out. My eyes were huge and I was switching between Jasper's face and Granny May. Ariel had the exact same reaction. NOBODY went against Granny May. She was the head of our family and she had every right to criticize her descendants.

And we were right back to me wanting to fuck Jasper Hale's brains out. It was the sexiest thing I had ever witnessed. Shit was about to hit the fan, but right now my brain was incapable of doing much of anything except gawk at this magnificently sexy specimen.

"Excuse me?" Granny May whispered. My mind was going crazy, switching between absolute fear and absolute horniness. It was never a good thing when Granny May whispered. I have never heard the old bat scream. She didn't have to. Her whisper was the scariest sound in the world to anyone with a drop of her blood in their system.

Jasper dropped his body a smigde lower. Like he was getting ready to pounce. I would like to think he was responding to my very wayward emotions. Well, that and my heartbeat that was so loud that even I could hear it. Ariel looked like she was regretting the whole thing. If there was anything we could agree on, it was that NOBODY wanted to see an angry Granny May.

Not that her regret mattered much. I was going to kill that bitch for doing this. Cut her pretty little face into something as hideous as the rotten soul she had inside. Fucking Ariel...

"You heard me. Only a truly low-class old hag would behave like this."

I was either peeing or creaming my pants. Fuck if I know. I had never in my life been so turned on and scared at the same time. I now understood why people hooked up like crazy in times of crisis. I was seriously considering asking Jasper if he wanted to have a quick fuck. Alice would never have to know... if Creepward was being kept in check like Jasper had promised.

Too fucking bad that I have some moral back bone. And Jasper really didn't seem like the cheating type. I pushed my lusty thought to the back of my mind and tried to focus on the disaster at hand. I couldn't let this go on. Granny May was planting her feet firmly in the ground and her grip on her walking stick tightened threatingly.

I was ten the last time she whacked me with that thing. I had to stay home for a week because I was so beaten up. It didn't look good to have a bruised kid running around, so mom had informed my school that I was sick with the flu and unable to attend my classes.

Angela was the only one who knew. And if I didn't de-escalate this situation, Jasper would know too. That would not end well for anyone.

"Jasper, please don't. Let's just go..." I said quietly, trying to get out from behind him, but he was keeping me as his prisoner. He didn't seem to realise that there was a difference between being brave and being an idiot. He was crossing over to the idiot side.

"No. You don't deserve to be treated like this." Jasper said. Fuck he sounded pissed off.

"How I choose to treat my offspring is no business of yours, Mr. Hale. Do stay quiet. This is a family matter." Granny May hissed out. Her eyes were burning and I was so fucking scared.

Jasper didn't like to be ordered around. Not one bit. He started growling. Louder than before. His whole body vibrated and that couldn't be a good sign. No matter how sexy it was. I bit my lip. This was getting out of hand too fucking quickly. Jasper could not lose his composure right now. Granny May would destroy him, if he didn't kill her first.

Now, I wanted Granny May dead as much as all the other members of my family. It was kind of our shared wet dream. She was a despicable bitch, a sociopath who had no place in this world. To be completely honest, I wasn't even that opposed to watching her die a bloody death right here. I would probably even feel some sick sense of pleasure from watching her drown in her own blood...

But people would talk. They would question. Everyone knew that I was the one who was having problems with her. My own mother would point me to the police in a heart beat. I was the fucking black sheep of the family. Everyone would say I was the guilty one. I sure as hell wasn't about to go to prison.

Yeah. I was that selfish. I hated Granny May. I just couldn't afford have her die in any other way than of old age.

"Jasper, calm down. It's okay. Let's go already." I whispered to him. Jasper didn't even look down at me. He was staring straight at Granny May and he was practically hissing like an animal.

Fuck. Me. This was bad.

"Honestly, she's not worth it! Let it go!" I was becoming a little desperate... Otherwise I would never have said those words in Granny May's presence. I heard the outraged gasp.

Ariel, the fucking eternal bane of my existance, was staring at the scene with her ugly-ass eyes bulging from her stupid face. Her mouth was wide open and she was cradling her hands under her chin in shock. She had done that ever since we were little kids.

I bit my lip and risked a glance at Granny May. Bad fucking choice. She was foaming at the mouth. Her hand that was clutching her walking stick was shaking like crazy and even her botox couldn't stop the ugly frown wrinkling her entire face. I was going to die. I knew it. Ella Johnson, died at the age of 15. She had an insignificant life.

"No, she's not worth it. But you are." Jasper said in a deadly voice. I turned my attention to his face and it was not good. He was absolutely livid and his eyes were fixed on that walking stick. Did he know? Had he figured it out? Fuck, I hoped not. I did not want to get into it. Assuming I lived long enough to get to that point.

Also, did he just say that I was worth it? Warmth spread all over my upper body and I hugged his back. I pressed my cheek against him and for a blissful second, I forgot what was happening. Then it all came back to me.

Granny May let out a shriek of pure rage and the walking stick left the ground. Ariel screamed and covered her face and I couldn't look away. I was paralyzed with fear. My eyes followed as she swung that horrible thing and to my horror, she wasn't aiming it towards Jasper. She was targeting me. I let out a whimper, expecting the pain to hit me at any time. It never did.

Jasper's arm moved at a lighting speed and he intercepted the stick with the palm of his hand. The stick broke on impact and splinters flew all around us. My jaw dropped. I looked at Jasper. I looked at the remains of the source of my childhood nightmares. I looked at Granny May. Fuck.

Think, Ella. Use that stupid brain of yours for once and think yourself out of this situation. Do SOMETHING. Anything.

I shuddered in fright and slipped away from Jasper's clutches. He had been distracted and he had released me. I stepped in front of him and placed my hands on his chest to act as a buffer. I really hoped I wasn't going to be collateral damage. I took a good look of his face, and whoa, he did not look like a normal human. He was almost animalistic.

His face was twisted into something incredibly scary, both from rage and hatred if I had to guess. His eyes were almost glowing and so black that it was slightly inhuman. No whites in his eyes. Just endless, burning blackness. There had to be something incredibly wrong with me, because to me he looked the sexiest he had ever been.

Granny May was clutching her chest and if I wasn't mistaken, her knees were wobbling. Well fuck. I didn't think the old bat had it in her to be scared of anything. Except looking ancient. Anyway, I had to end this before there was no going back and I had to deal with the dead bodies of my arch nemesis and the monster under my bed.

"Stop it. Jasper, it's okay. Please calm down..." I whispered. He didn't move. At all. Didn't even notice that I was there.

Jasper Hale had his prey in front of him and nothing could come between them. I remembered Angela telling me that she was always the most scared of Jasper. There was always something a little different about him. A history of violence that the others didn't have.

"Jasper, please!" I begged. Nothing.

I might have panicked. A lot. My mind started working overtime, trying to come up with a solution to defuse the Jasper bomb before he blew up. What did dad always do when mom lost it?

My brain short-fused and I swallowed nervously. I took a firm grab of Jasper's shoulders and placed my feet on his thigh. I pushed myself up, wrapped my arms around his stiff neck and kicked my legs so they wrapped around his waist. I craned my neck and kissed him.

I kissed Jasper Hale.

I was fucking insane.

My body went fucking wild at the slightest touch of his lips against mine. Who was scared? My brain only registered lust and pleasure. Everything else was forgotten. I couldn't think anymore. I just moved my lips and hang off of his body awkwardly.

It was fucking glorious.

Then, his arms wrapped tightly around me. One twisted into my hair and pushed the back of my head. The other grabbed my ass and pulled me closer to his body. He angled my head better and then... then he started kissing me back.

Jasper Hale knew how to kiss. Holy shit he knew how to kiss. He took over completely, pushing and pulling my lips as he pleased. I could just enjoy the ride. I was in no state to think deep thoughts, but I knew that this was not a simple boy I was kissing. Jasper was not some bumbling and horny teenager. He was a man and he knew exactly what he wanted.

My body quivered from the pleasure. I might have stopped breathing. I don't fucking know. I was in heaven and I was crying because it felt too good. Shit like that really messed up with ones head. I just knew that I never wanted it to end. It felt like I would die if he stopped. If I stopped.

"Okay, I did not see that coming. Nicely done, sis!"

000

Jasper pulled away from me and nearly dropped me on my ass. I blinked stupidly, trying to figure out where I was, and what was happening. Fuck that was intense. I breathed heavily and pressed my head under his chin and I tried to gather my thoughts.

We were hiking. Then that bitch Ariel had ambushed us. Jasper had nearly ripped Granny May into little pieces. And then I had kissed him.

I had kissed Jasper Hale. And then I had lost it. Really fucking lost it. I knew that I was insanely attracted to him. I had no idea kissing a vampire could do this to a person. And to a vampire, apparently.

Holy shit. Jasper was an empath. He picked up what I was feeling. I looked at him. He looked downright ashamed. He was still holding me up so I didn't fall on my perfect ass, but he was looking at everything but me. This wasn't good. He hadn't wanted it. He had gotten swept away by my emotions. He had been defenseless.

I felt sick. Horrified. Ashamed.

I had just sexually assaulted Jasper. I hadn't meant to. I kissed him to distract him. I was supposed to stop as soon as he would have snapped out of it. He had been fucking vunerable. So not in touch with his mind and definitely not concentrating on deflecting other people's emotions.

And then he had been assaulted by my uncontrollable lust. Fuck, I was the fucking monster here...

Oh, and my brother was there apparently. Witnessing the whole fucking thing and making fun of it all. Life was fucking peachy. I slid down Jasper's body and stepped away from him. I cleared my throat and put my game face back on. We could deal with it as soon as this shitstorm was over. I couldn't show any weakness now. Even though I wanted to cry real bad.

Granny May cleared her throat. She was clutching the leftovers of her walking stick and trying to look poised. She failed miserably. I bet she was pissing herself from fright.

"What do you mean? It's not the first time you've walked in on us." I said, so fucking glad that my voice wasn't trembling. I took a hold of Jasper's hand and tried to ignore the way he flinched. It was fucking show time.

Thank fucking god that everyone had been distracted by our kiss. I was relatively sure that Granny May and Ariel would not start to question what they had just seen from Jasper.

"Well yeah, but I didn't expect you to get your freak on around the family."

I loved my brother. Well, love was a very strong word. I appreciated my brother in that moment. Lying came to us so naturally and I was so fucking grateful that he was backing my play on the fly like that. Johnson kids stuck together alright.

"Well, it seems like Ariel's imagination had gotten the better of her..." Granny May said and brushed herself off. Ha, the old bat was trying to save face! Ariel sputtered like an idiot and opened her ugly ass mouth to defend herself.

I saw a familiar shape in the distance from the corner of my eye. Two shapes, walking together. I bit my lip and smirked. It was fucking payback time. Ariel was not going to get away scot free.

"Oh, I can only imagine the stress you are under, sweetheart! The wedding and everything! And the rumours! I don't know who could be foul enough to spread such falsehoods!" My voice was so sugary that I could feel cavities forming to my teeth.

Ariel flinched and went a little white. I could only imagine what kind of troubled thoughts her gross head was concocting. I could almost hear her mind screaming 'What rumours?!' This was fucking delicious.

"Rumours...?" She asked meekly, her eyes wide with fear. She knew something horrible was coming. In front of Granny May.

"I'm sure it's nothing, sweetheart. You know how the others like to gossip. I'm sure Justin was just being a good host by escorting Cousin Lydia around. Our aunts just like to overreact to everything..."

Ariel stepped back in fear. Her eyes darted around and she saw what she was supposed to see. Justin, walking next to Cousin Lydia in the distance. Just the two of them. Whatever colour was still remaining on Ariel's pale face drained completely. She was like a ghost. Then she went completely red and her face twisted into that of a raging bitch-monster.

Cousin Lydia had it rough too. She was happily married and had been ever since she was 17. It was just that her husband Nahid was a marine. He was on his second or third tour in Afganistan and since Lydia was young and beautiful, rumours started to spread. Half of the family were convinced that she tried to seduce the husbands of her relatives. It was utter bullshit, but that's never stopped the crazies from speculating.

Brody snickered a little and gave Ariel a real shit-eating grin.

"Well, Lydia can be _fascinating_ to be around..." He said. I could have kissed him right there. If he wasn't so gross and icky all the time.

Granny May gasped and her entire attention went to Ariel. Brody winked at me and hurriedly left the scene. What a great idea. I glanced at the duo of witches in front of me. They had conveniently forgotten that I was even there. I could work with that.

"Let's get the fuck out of here. We need to talk." I whispered to Jasper and started leading him away towards our cabin. He didn't say anything, but he allowed me to hold his hand in my tight grip. That was good. I hoped.

Why did it have to get so fucking complicated?

* * *

Author's Final Notes:

So... that happened. It only took what, 40 000+ words for Ella's first kiss to happen. Should we make it another 40 000 words before it happens again? :D

The next chapter will explain some of Jasper's more... extreme reactions. So you all can look forward to that! I'll hopefully have that one up at the end of the week.

Thank you all for gifting me with your time and eyeballs. It's much appreciated!


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10: The Talk**

* * *

I closed the cabin door after us and collapsed against it. That was intense. In all possible ways. I don't think I've ever felt as much stuff as just a moment ago. And what a fucking cacophony of feelings it had been. Fear, anger, gratitude, lust... My head was still buzzing from it all.

Jasper was sitting on our bed. He looked absolutely miserable. I really didn't want to deal with this, but I knew I had to. Partly because I liked to think I was a decent human being and Jasper had really helped me during the most horrible weekend of my life. He deserved this talk.

I had to admit that another part of it was that I couldn't afford to have him moping around for the rest of our time together at this horrible place. The rehearsal dinner was only five hours away and I needed him to be on top of his game.

But how to begin? I didn't know how to have these sorts of conversations. Where was Angela when I needed her? Okay, so she had exactly as much experience with relationships as I had, but she at least always knew what to say.

"I'm sorry." There. That sounded like the perfect place to begin. Jasper's still black eyes snapped to me and he looked a little baffled.

"Why are you apologizing?" He asked very sincerely. Oh great. I assaulted him and _he_ felt guilty and responsible. Fuck, this was exactly what this situation needed.

"I pretty much mauled you back there. I'm sorry for violating your personal space like that. I panicked and I didn't know what else to do to get you to calm down. I was afraid you were going to kill that old bat and that fucking Devil's spawn. I didn't know _that_ was going to happen."

Jasper sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"Ella, what happened wasn't your fault. I lost control of myself. I should be the one apologizing. I'm so sorry for losing my senses."

This was just great. Well, I wasn't going to let him take the fall for something he had no power over. This mess was completely on me and my inability to reign in my hormones.

"Don't be stupid. My emotions overwhelmed you. You were already on the edge and then I had to go and throw myself at you." I said.

Jasper actually let out a little laugh. A tired and a little desperate laugh. My hormones reared their ugly heads again, but I stomped them down like I was playing a game of Whack-a-Mole. This was so not the time to be turned on by the recently outraged vampire.

"Are you listening to yourself? I nearly killed your relatives and I very nearly went too far with you. I'm 167 years old. I should know how to control myself by now."

"That's not the point. _I_ decided to kiss you against your will. _I_ couldn't control myself. _My_ lust pushed you over the edge. So, _my fault_."

He was not going to pull any of this macho bullshit with me. I was a woman enough to admit when I was in the wrong and like hell was I going to let him think he did something wrong here. I mean, besides nearly killing my family member, but that was a different issue.

"Ella..."

I rolled my eyes at him. Shit, I was here trying to apologize for assaulting him and he was making it so fucking difficult by trying to blame himself.

"No Jasper. The fact is that you were in no position to say 'no' and I took advantage of you. I know you didn't want it and I'm sorry."

Jasper threw his hands up in frustration. I had to pinch myself to distract my brain from his hotness. It was really fucking unhealthy how single-minded I was when it came to Jasper.

"My god you can be difficult, Ella Johnson. I am not upset that you kissed me!"

"...you're not?"

Okay, I did not see that coming. Because I sure as hell would've been upset if some guy forced himself on me. I would throw a fucking hissy fit of the century if someone did that to me. Well, Jasper could possibly get a pass and that was simply because I was so fucking insanely attracted to him that he could do pretty much anything to me at this point and I would be fine with it.

Ella Johnson, making the smartest of decisions since 1989.

Jasper sighed. His face turned softer when he looked at me. He looked almost sad. My heart tugged at me and I felt the overwhelming urge to give him a big hug. But I couldn't. I didn't have the balls to touch him right now.

"No Ella. I'm not upset that you kissed me. I am confused and angry at myself for... for losing myself like that."

Be still my fucking heart. Do not read too much into that statment, Ella. HE. HAD. A. GIRLFRIEND.

"But you were just overwhelmed by my emotions. It wasn't your fault. You didn't-"

 _You didn't cheat on Alice_. I couldn't bring myself to say those words.

He looked at me with his black eyes. Straight into my fucking soul and I couldn't look away. I wanted to, desperately. But I couldn't.

"No, but I could've. Really fucking easily."

Whoa... This was so not the fucking time for him to say stuff like that to me. He especially shouldn't curse while I was this riled up. I rubbed my thigh together and tried to think about anything but him. My body was still hot and tingly from that one kiss. I was seriously craving more, but unfortunately I was pretty sure Jasper was not feeling the same. So he really shouldn't make himself even sexier right now.

He took a deep breath and shuddered.

"You will be the death of me, Ella Johnson. I'm begging you to try and calm yourself a little bit. I'm hanging on a thread here."

Wait, what? Fucking hell. Ella, do not get excited from his words! BAD ELLA! Pull yourself together, you idiot.

"What will happen if I don't?"

What the fuck possessed me to say that?! And in such a bedroom voice! Jasper groaned and threw his head backwards. His hands clenched into fists and he seemed to be gritting his teeth. Holy fuck he was so sexy.

Jasper took a few long strides and stopped right in front of me. Our bodies were almost touching and I was panting like a dog in heat. I looked up at him and I wanted nothing more than just repeat what had happened outside just moments ago.

He leaned over me, resting one of his arms on the door above my head. His other hand came to caress my arm from my shoulder to the tips of my fingers. My body was on fire and my panties were soaked through. Correction, my leggings were soaked through. I needed a long, cold shower... Or something else entirely.

"If you don't, I'm going to break my marriage vows and I'm going to make you go insane from pleasure. If you ask me to, I will lose this final thread of control and I will make love to you. Over and over again until you are incapable of thinking anything but me."

This was so dangerous... and so fucking tempting. I bit my lip and pushed my hands behind me so I wouldn't reach out to him. Having sex with Jasper would be a bad thing. Really bad. He was in a relationship. Happily. With a vampire who could snap me like a twig. Oh, and Jasper was a vampire too. How was I starting to ignore that major factor more and more?

He pushed his face even closer and our noses touched. My heart was exploding. My entire body was tingling in expectation and my eyelids felt so heavy. He looked at me straight in the eye. His eyes were burning and I was so fucking turned on. He took another deep breath and he let out a choked moan. It would be so fucking easy to just reach out. Just a little...

"So please don't ask me..."

Well, that was a nice douse of cold water to my very hormonal body. Of course he didn't want to. I forced my hormones back into their cage and I concentrated on calming myself. It would have been glorious. What a disappointment.

Of course, it was the right thing to do. I had to remind myself again that none of this was real. Jasper was just my fake boyfriend for the wedding. He was fucking taken. His girlfriend was one of the most beautiful creatures ever to exist. What was I, just a puny human who couldn't attract a boy if her fucking life depended on it?

"Yeah, that would be a bad thing..." I mumbled and looked away. I was starting to feel really embarrassed. What the hell was I going to do about this insane attraction? I was clearly making Jasper uncomfortable with all of this and that was bad.

"What are you thinking about right now? Why are you feeling so sad and dejected?" He asked quietly. He was still looming over me, giving me no chance to escape. Well, I did say we had to talk... it wasn't really going like I had imagined.

How come we skipped the near massacre so easily? I had to be fucked up in my head to just gloss over it and forget that my date had nearly slaughtered my Granny May and that nuisance of a toad that was called Ariel. Well, not forget as much as not give a damn.

"Uh... can we not talk about it? I'm kind of trying to deal with being rejected, so can we talk about something else?"

Again, there was no point in lying to an empath. I should hire him as my personal shrink as this shit was really therapeutic. Embarrassing as fuck, but therapeutic.

Jasper's fingers cupped my chin and lifted my face upwards to look at him. I really would rather not look at his handsome and sexy face, but what other choice I had? Squeeze my eyes tightly shut and imagine he wasn't there?

"Oh, my sweet lil' darling. You have no idea, do you?" He whispered. His fingers were gliding on the skin of my jaw and oh my, they were doing some wonderful things to my body. Bad things. The tingling was back, right as I was getting my hormones under control.

Whoa he was sending some mixed signals in my direction. I shook my head, partly to clear it of my deliciously naughty thoughts and partly to answer his question. Jasper laughed in a sexily rough voice. A girl could melt from just listening to that tone of his voice. Maybe I could convince him to record himself and give me a tape? Or hundred?

"I want you so badly right now. I don't recall ever being more aroused in my life. I would love nothing more than to take you and make you mine. You are intoxicating, Ella Johnson."

And my ovaries exploded. I might've gotten pregnant just then. I licked my lips. I needed him. Badly. Right now.

"But?" I asked with a whisper. I knew the answer of course.

"But... You are a human. I'm afraid I'd kill you by accident. It would take just a second of losing control of my strenght. I'm married. I have given my wedding vows to my wife decades ago and I do not wish to break them now."

Funny how he put my wellbeing above his marriage...

"You haven't hurt me yet..."

Bad Ella. Why did I have to go there? I was seriously pushing some limits here. He was just so damn sexy and I wanted him. And I knew it was wrong in so, so many levels and I didn't give a fuck. This was getting so fucking dangerous and my body was so ready for it. I was in serious shit...

Jasper raised his eyebrow. His fingers trailed down to my neck and he rubbed my heated skin there. It felt so fucking good that I wanted to cry.

"How can you say that? I've already hurt you. I was so disgusted with myself when you walked out of the bathroom last night without your make up on. I wanted to hurt myself for touching you like that."

Okay, he had a valid point. The bruises were still there and while they didn't hurt anymore, they were an ugly remainder of Jasper's violent streak. However, it was so fucking hard to care about that when he was standing so damn close to me and telling me how much he wanted me.

"I forgive you for that."

Well shit, I could now officially say that my reason had left me for good. I never had much of sanity, but now the rest of it had flown away. Stupid vampires and their stupid sex powers and their stupid charm and their stupid protectiveness... it was all just stupid.

"You really shouldn't. What I did was unforgivable."

"Well, I'm known to make stupid decisions..."

I swear those eyes of his were burning my skin. In the best fucking way possible. Honestly, I had to change the sexyness ranking of the Cullens after today. Jasper had officially knocked Dr Cullen off the first place. There was just no way in hell the good doctor could beat this.

Then again, what did I know? I should spend a steamy weekend with Dr Cullen some day. For... research. Collect data and compare their performances.

But really, it would be damn difficult to beat Jasper. And this was him just explaining to me why we couldn't just bang right here and now. I don't think my body could handle him actively trying to seduce me. Still, a girl could dream...

"I'm not worthy of your forgiveness, Ella. I'm not a good person."

He was doing it again. Being all miserable and self-loathing. Not on my watch, buddy!

"So are you saying you tried to kill me on purpose? Because here I was thinking it was an accident and you just lost control."

Jasper's eyes flashed and a shiver ran down my spine. I wasn't entirely sure if it was the good kind of shiver or the bad kind. The jury was still out on this situation. It was really nice that he didn't even try to put distance between us. I liked having him so dangerously close.

"I did not lose control. If I had, I would have crushed your windpipe into powder. It's a little more complicated than that."

Well fuck. I probably should've been more alarmed.

"Tell me. I think I deserve to know the truth."

I didn't want to push him to reveal his darkest secrets, but I was curious and I really did have the right to know why he had strangled me like that.

The look on Jasper's face changed. Some of his smooth, dangerous sexyness moved aside so a more vunerable side of him could come forward. He stayed quiet for a long time, no doubt trying to decide if he should tell me the truth or not.

I was perfectly content staying where I was, so there was no need to rush him.

"I was turned into a vampire when I was 19. The vampire who turned me was called Maria and she was on a hunt for an army. There was a war brewing in the South and she needed bodies to throw at her enemies. I was exactly what she was looking for."

Oh, so he was 19. More material for my Jasper Files. Still didn't explain why he had attacked me like that.

"Go on."

"I was her second-in-command and it was my job to train her army. She wanted to use newborn vampires only. While we can get stronger and stronger as we age, initially we are at our strongest when we are just turned. Maria had no interest in chasing down mature vampires who had surpassed their newborn strenght, so she told me to create an army of newborns for her. With me so far?"

Yes, yes I was. He was more interesting than any History teacher ever. I was starting to look forward to his tutoring services. If he taught like this I would be acing my test like it was nothing. Fucking amazing.

I nodded my head and waited for him to continue.

"It was my job to train her army. To control them. To achieve this I had to be stronger than them in every way. I had to dominate over them."

"Is that what you were doing? Trying to dominate me?"

Why did that sound like something I would be into? Jasper Hale taking charge and calling all the shots... mmh... Not that I would ever actually want to be his doormat. Still, it was a great fantasy.

"You have to understand that I spent decades living this violent lifestyle. It became an instinct to apply just enough strenght to make the newborns to think I was going to kill them and yet not actually damage them permanently. To make them think three times before trying to disobey me. It's... challenging to get out of that mindset."

Okay, so he hadn't lost control but he had gone with what he knew best. I guess that made sense.

"It didn't work with me, though." And it hadn't. Not really. I had been scared shitless, but I had challenged him head on and I had fucking won that argument with some good old emotional blackmail and fury.

Jasper smirked. That damn smirk of his was going to be the death of me. My body was all hot and bothered again and it was all his fault. He had to be doing this on purpose. Wait, was this his second approach to controlling me? That sneaky bastard...

"That sounds a lot like a challenge... You are a troublemaker, aren't you Ms Johnson?" He said in a low whisper. Right next to my ear. My whole fucking body shook. I was pretty sure I'd be dripping all over the floor soon if he kept this up.

"Always..."

Me and my fucking mouth... Why couldn't I stop begging him to fuck me? Ella Johnson did NOT do the whole 'other woman' schtick and Jasper was not going to cheat on Alice so why was it so fucking difficult for me to speak like a normal person and not like a fucking cat in heat?

He looked so fucking pleased with himself. It seemed like I wasn't the only one who liked to switch between emotional states at the drop of the hat. He had been so serious a little while ago and now he was back to being his suave, sexy self. He was a fucking tease.

He arched one of his perfect eyebrows and drew back from me a little bit. I wanted to yank him right back. Steal another kiss from him. Maybe more. I was playing with fucking fire and I knew I would end up getting burned.

Why did I think it was a good idea to openly challenge a vampire who had just admitted that he was a bit of a control freak?

Ah, shit. I had to get it together. I put my hands on his wonderfully sculpted chest and gave him a light push. He stepped away from my personal space with a grim smile. Right, it was time to push this to the back of my mind. It was really getting crammed in there with all of the things I had to place there.

I took a deep breath and walked to our shared bed. Jasper stayed at the door, but his eyes watched my every move. I sat down and rubbed my temples. I would need a fucking month of therapy after this weekend.

"So... that wasn't too bad for my first kiss. It might be a tough act to follow. I think you might've ruined my chances of ever having a boyfriend." I said. It was time to make things less hot and heavy. So naturally we should talk about my first kiss.

Jasper relaxed considerably and leaned against the door in a much more casual way. His lips pulled into a small grin and I knew the situation was over. We were back to being Ella and Jasper, two strangers who were pretending to be lovers. I was not going to analyze what had just happened. Nothing good would come from that. Better to just move on and forget it.

"I'm very sorry. How can I make it up to you?"

"Well, for starters you can tell me if I was horrible. I think I drooled. Did I drool?"

What? A girl needs to know!

Jasper burst into a laughing fit. Hmph, it's nice to know that my mortal worries were so amusing to him...

I needed a drink.

Holy shit! Did Jasper say that he was _married_ to Alice? Like, not just a boyfriend and a girlfriend, but a husband and a wife? Shit! Shit shit shit shit shit shit shit.

"Did you say you were married?" I asked in a panicked voice. Every sexy thought and every tingle vanished into thin air. It was time to go back to my other constant companion, anxiety. It was just so fucking great to be me.

"Yes. I married Alice in June of 1951." Jasper said after he was done with laughing. I guess he realized that fun times were over and Crazy Ella was back in the pilot seat.

Okay, so he was married. Were there records? Oh my god. I was going to get caught. Ariel was going to dig up a marriage certificate and she was going to expose this whole fucking thing! My mom was going to kill me. Literally.

"And you didn't bother to tell me that _before_ I introduced you to the nosiest psychos on the planet?!"

Ah, anger. My old and dear companion. Worked super well with panic and anxiety. The perfect recipe for disaster.

Jasper winced and pressed himself closer to the door. Yeah, he should be fucking scared! I jumped off of the bed and marched right in front of him. I glared up at him and I wished I knew how to hurt these stupid creatures. I needed to punch something, so I smacked Jasper's chest.

It fucking hurt.

"Ow! Owowowowow..." I cried out, pressing my hand between my thighs and squeezing them together. Like that would magically fix the sudden pain.

"Are you alright? Please let me see..."

I gave him my best death stare. I did not want to be touched by him.

"No, I'm not fucking alright! Do you have any idea how bad the situation is? Is your fucking marriage on record anywhere? Because that little shit will get her dirty claws on it and my life is fucking over!"

I freed my hand from between my thighs and shook it to see how it moved. It was impossible not to think that your hand is broken whenever it hits something. It wasn't of course. My hand was moving just fine and the pain itself was ebbing away.

"Ella, we were married a long time ago. Our marriage was registered under my real name and not this name I'm using now. You don't have to worry about it. Your cousin is not going to find out that I'm married."

Jasper was speaking calmly. Like he was dealing with a cornered, panicked animal. To be fair, I did fit that bill pretty damn well.

"Oh thank god. Don't fucking scare me like that." I sighed and took deep breaths to bring my pulse down. It was always good fun when I got riled up for no reason. It did wonders for my sanity.

"So Jasper Hale is not your real name?"

I felt like we couldn't end our discussion with me freaking the fuck out, so I decided to continue on with this new piece of information he had given me. If he was willing to tell me, that is. He had been super open about his personal shit so far, so I was hoping he'd be up to telling me more about his life. The dude was 167 years old. You could cram a fuck-ton of life into 167 years.

Jasper graced me with one of his angelic smiles. He must've been relieved that my meltdown was so easily dealt with. Psh, he had no idea just how bad I could get. This was fucking child's play.

"That's correct. It's actually Rosalie's last name. I started using it in the 60's when it was decided that we should pose as twins. My actual name is Jasper Whitlock. Major Jasper Whitlock."

He was standing tall and proud. I felt the first tingles of my sex drive stirring again. Would it ever fucking end? I was so done with turning into a drooling idiot at the sight of him.

"Major?"

"Yes ma'am. I joined the Confederate Army when I was 17 and rose quickly in the ranks. I was promoted to major two years later. The youngest major in Texas."

Wait, Confederate Army? Weren't they the bad guys during the war? Okay, so I had no idea what happened in the civil war, but I was pretty sure that the Confederates were the bad guys. The pro-slavery peeps. Was Jasper pro-slavery? Had he been before? I mean, he did say that he wasn't a good person.

"So like... you wanted to keep slavery alive?"

I had to ask. I was not about to have a crush on a guy who supported that idea. I had spent enough time under my mom's thumb to know what it was like when you had your choices taken away from you. I wasn't stupid enough to think I had even the tiniest of ideas how it must've been like to be an actual slave, but I knew how it felt like to be powerless and at the mercy of someone else.

And I was so not crushing on Jasper. No way.

Denial is a fucking river in Egypt.

"No, Ella. I never supported the concept of slavery. We didn't own land, so we didn't own slaves either. I joined the army once the war spread to our town. I wanted to protect my home." Jasper said tiredly, like he had been in this conversation many times befoe and he was tired of explaining himself.

"And you say you're not a good person. I think you're a good guy, Jasper Whitlock."

And really, my opinion should matter the most in this situation. Jasper clearly sucked at reading people, especially himself.

He shook his head sadly and sat down on our bed. I joined him, our sides nearly touching. I leaned back on my hands and stared at the ceiling. It didn't feel like the appropriate time to start my googly-eyes routine, so it was best if I didn't look at him right now.

"You are wrong. I've done terrible things in my life. Unforgivable things, Ella. I have killed so many people that I lost count. Their terrified eyes have all blended into a blur, but I can feel the weight of my sins every second of my life."

Holy shit. He was really opening up here. I sucked on my cheek, mulling over this information. I mean, I had assumed that he killed people. He was a fucking vampire and vampires ate people. He was still alive in that walking dead way, so I assumed he was still eating people.

Did I care? I probably should've. Killing people was bad. But hell, I didn't know any of his victims. Nobody I knew had ever died mysteriously of blood loss. None of my friends or family members had been ripped apart by a wild animal.

"But isn't that natural? I mean, you have to eat."

Jasper put his hand on my hair and gently turned my head so I was looking at him. He was surprised. Baffled. Couldn't understand what I had just said.

"Are you saying that you didn't know I don't feed on human blood and still asked me to escort you?"

Well, it did sound insane when he put it like that...

"So you don't eat people? But you are a vampire. Don't you need blood?" I frowned. It made no sense. Everything Angela had researched about vampires told us that vampires needed blood to survive. What the hell...

"Animal blood, Ella. I drink animal blood."

How was I supposed to know that? The Cullens were the only vampires I had ever seen and it's not like they wore t shirts that said 'We don't eat people' on them.

"Okay. So you don't kill humans anymore, is that right?"

Jasper glanced away quickly and a look of shame shadowed his handsome face. I was so fucking confused. He didn't eat people, but he was killing them? Or he used to kill them and missed those times? Was he disgusted by his old life and just ashamed because of that?

"I'm... adjusting to this lifestyle. The Cullens refuse to drink human blood. We hunt animals to survive. I used to... I was a monster."

I took a hold of his hand and leaned against him. His arm was super comfy for such a hard surface. Jasper made a small effort to pull away, but I refused to let go. I guess that was all the reassurance he needed since he didn't yank his hand away and run away screaming.

"Do you miss it? Is that why you think you're a bad person?" I wanted to know. It honestly made no sense to me. Humans ate animals and the majority of us were just fine with it. Most people weren't considered bad just because they ate the flesh of another living being. Why would vampired be any different? I saw them eating humans as the same thing as me eating a steak. Circle of life and all that jazz.

"Sometimes..." He whispered. Like he was disgusted with himself. Maybe it was because his food could talk back? I knew that pigs were intelligent beings with feelings, but that didn't stop me from eating the bacon that had been served at breakfast. If the pigs started talking to me, well then I might've been a vegan for the right reasons. Or maybe not. No way of knowing how that would go down before I actually met a talking pig.

"You see, I am not a fairytale prince. You shouldn't waste your time on me."

"Well, who's asking you to be? Why can't you just be Jasper Whitlock?"

He let out a sad sigh. He fell backwards onto the bed, pulling me with him. We laid there side by side and stared at the ceiling. At least I was staring at the ceiling again. I had no fucking clue what he was doing.

"Why is it so easy to talk to you, Ella Johnson?"

Probably for the same reason why it was so easy for me to talk to him.

"Because I'm so fucked up that I can't really judge you?" It was my best guess. I felt like I could tell my darkest thoughts to Jasper without being scared that he'd be disgusted with me. I had only ever felt like that with Angela and that was somehow different. With Angela it was more like unconditional love. I could be a horrible person and she'd still love me. I had faith in that, so I could be open about my thoughts with her.

Jasper felt like he understood where I was coming from. Like we shared a similar way of viewing the world. I didn't need to explain to her why I wished that Ariel died in the most painful way imaginable. He didn't analyze my fucked up thoughts and try to steer me into the righteous path.

"I might be way off here, but are you like this because Alice doesn't approve of you?" I asked. I continued to squeeze his hand and he gave me a gentle squeeze back. That was reassuring. He wasn't super pissed at me for asking.

"I owe a lot to Alice. She has been there for me for a long time. She doesn't want to harm humans... our diet makes her happy."

Now that was a non-answer if I ever heard one. I thought about my relationship with Angela. She was the one person I loved above all else.

Angela knew everything there was to know about me. She knew I was easily angered, immature, borderline insane and that I fantasized about murdering my relatives on regular basis. She knew all of that and she accepted me anyway. She was there for me no matter how badly I behaved. Angela always gave me another perspective to things, offered another solution... but she never tried to force me to change.

It didn't sound like Jasper had the same reassurance from Alice. I could be way off and maybe I was just trying to poke holes into their relationship so I could wiggle my way in. I don't know. I liked to think that I was good enough person to not try something like that, but I was also fucking selfish and I wanted Jasper.

"I'm not enirely sure why I'm saying this, but is it okay for you to change for Alice? I mean, if you have to change the person you are inside to make your wife happy, then is it really love?"

He stayed quiet. I was worried that I had crossed a line or something, but he kept holding my hand and just laid still. I bit my lip and thought if I should say something else. Like, what the fuck did I think I knew about relationships? I shouldn't be poking my nose in other people's business.

Maybe I should just be quiet and let him decide if we should continue talking. Yeah, I could do that. Just let him figure his shit out in peace and relax. His smell was really calming and comforting. My eyelids felt heavy. A nap sounded like a fucking brilliant idea...

Suddenly, Jasper bolted from the bed and stared at the door. He let out the smallest of growls and tugged me up into sitting position. What the fuck was going on now? Enough shit had happened to last me a fucking lifetime. Why couldn't the universe just let me fucking be for once second?!

The door burst open and Faye ran inside. Her eyes were wide with panic and her hair was all over the place. So mom had not gotten her claws into her yet. But she would...

"She knows... Ella, she knows!"

* * *

Author's Final Notes:

Dun dun duuuun! Who knows and what? Why is Faye freaking the fuck out? Are Ella and Jasper ever going to bone? Find out next time on Dragon Ball Z!

So, a lot of stuff were discussed between Ella and Jasper. It's not Jasper's entire life story since he's a little reserved and they have only known each other for a short time.

I was hoping to get this chapter done last week, but hey! Better late than never, right? Right...?

There will most likely be a short break on updates. I'm picking up a friend from the airport in three hours and entertaining them for a week. It's rude to have your nose stuck on your computer when you have company, so I'll probably have no time to write next week. So, chapter 11 will most likely be out around September 8th or 9th. Hopefully. Maybe.

Moving on! Thank you all for continuing to read about Ella's dramatic adventures with the vampire sex god aka Jasper. And thank you kind people for following and favoriting (is that a word?) my story. And a big thank you to my awesome peeps who leave a review for me to read. Those are much appreciated and they light up my world as autumn arrives and the days grow darker. Winter is coming, my friends...

I hope everyone's doing well and I'll see you soon! Unless a zombie apocalypse comes or the internet is destroyed. If that's the case then I'm taking a longer break.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11: The Desolation of Hurricane Marilyn**

* * *

I looked at Faye. She was freaking the fuck out and that was never good. I mean, the girl was standing in my cabin with her hair looking like a rat made a nest in it and died. Faye wasn't as obsessed with outer appearance as I was, but she was a normal teenaged girl and there was no way in hell she would choose to be seen like that if shit wasn't serious.

I turned to look at Jasper as if he would know what the fuck was going on. He gave me a questioning look and shrugged his shoulders. His beautiful, strong shoulders...

Right, there was a crisis to be had. I willed myself to forget that Jasper was still holding my hand and standing slightly in front of me. A girl really could get used to having a big scary vampire protecting her...

"Who knows?" I asked. It was a small wonder that I wasn't freaking the fuck out. I knew I should be terrified. Faye didn't get spooked easily. There was this tingle on the back of my thighs that told me shit was about to go down. It just took my brains a while to catch up.

Faye looked at me like I was insane. I was pretty insulted by that. Like, I didn't ALWAYS freak out when something happened. Just... like 90% of the time.

"Your mom, Ella. She knows about you and Jasper!"

About me and...?

Oh... Oh shit.

Yeah, I spoke too soon. I let out a horrified gasp and my legs gave out from under me. Jasper had to step into my personal space so I collapsed against his fine body and not on the ground. Fucking hell, this was not good. Not good at all.

Why hadn't I thought about my mom's inevitable reaction until now? She was actively trying to pimp me out to Jasper and I had given her all the fucking fuel she needed to bring forth the fearsome strenght of Hurricane Marilyn.

My life was about to get infinitely more sucky.

"Oh god no. How...?" I mean, I knew the answer. There was only one person who was horrible enough to spread the gossip. It had to be Ariel. I just knew it.

"Are you alright, Ella?" Jasper asked quietly.

Hell no I wasn't alright. How could I be? Mom was going to have a fucking field day with me. She had been so over the top when she was 'helping' me to get ready when Jasper had come over to discuss our agreement. And that was just her taking a long shot that Jasper would think I was hot. Now she knew that there had been some pretty damn steamy action going on...

She was going to ruin my life. I just knew it.

"What do we do? She wants us to get ready together!" Faye continued her wailing.

I'm not proud of it, but I felt like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders. Faye was going to suffer with me. Mom couldn't use all of her energy on me if there were two girls she needed to 'fix'. I liked Faye and everything, but I wasn't going to fucking sacrifice my sanity by saving her. Hell no. I was going to use her in any way I could. And then possibly make it up to her some day.

I mean, to be fair, she would do the same thing to me in a heartbeat. Faye was a decent human being and she had a lot of compassion towards all living things and shit like that, but there was nothing that was off-limits when it came to escaping my mother and the rest of my fucked up relatives.

Not even throwing your fiance's little sister under the bus. It was fucking survival of the fittest.

"This weekend just keeps getting better and better... Realistically, do we have any chance of escaping her?" I asked. I hugged myself and tried to find my fucking happy place.

It was pointless to hope for a miracle. Faye wouldn't be here if there had been even the slightest of chances that she could get away. The best I could do was to steel myself and hope to god that I would survive the Hurricane Marilyn without being reduced to a sobbing mess on the floor.

"I'm sorry, but what's exactly going on?" Jasper asked. Oh, that poor, naive boy...

"Ella's mother heard about you two and the... incident." What were we, 12? Couldn't she just say that my mom heard about us making out like there was no tomorrow?

"Yes, I understood that part."

Whoa, there was a lot of bite in that sentence. Was he still on the edge because of what happened earlier? And why was I getting turned on again? Oh... and he was still holding on to me. Mmmh, his big hands on my waist... what were we talking about again?

"What Faye is trying to say is that my mom now thinks that I have a real chance with you. So she'll drag me into her cabin by force and then she'll use me as a toy and do whatever she thinks will get you to want to fuck me." There, that wasn't so hard now was it?

"I was trying to be delicate..." Faye muttered.

Bitch please. She didn't have to try and make a good impression on Jasper. I knew that was what she was trying to do. How come everyone seemed to forget that this boyfriend arragement was only temporary and after this fucking wedding was over everything would go back to normal?

Jasper was clearly thinking about something. He stared down at me, but I don't think he was actually looking at me. His thumbs rubbed tiny circles on my hip bone and boy did that feel good. It's so unfair that he could have this sort of effect on me without even fucking trying!

Or maybe he was trying and just fucking with me. Who really knew? Maybe he was a huge teen romance fan and wanted to live through every cliche teen drama where the guy deceives the girl for personal gain? It could happen.

"And you don't want to go through that?" He eventually said.

I sucked on my cheek and thought about how I could best describe what I felt about the entire situation. A simple 'hell no' just didn't seem to do this feeling any justice. I mean, seducing Jasper Whitlock sounded delicious and all, but that would just end badly for me.

I went through my checklist of reasons why I shouldn't try anything with Jasper. A vampire in a committed relationship who had control issues. Yeah, getting it on with him was a great idea...

"Um, no. I'm trying very hard to not fall in love with you and screwing your brains out might complicate that a little bit."

What? I was doing the whole honesty thing! The one Angela recommended me to use and the one Jasper appreciated so much. I was being a good girl.

Jasper cleared his throat and his grip on my hips got tighter. Not in the 'oh god he's grinding my bones into dust' way, but in that 'he's reacting to me' kind of way. I liked it dangerously much.

"I do love your honesty, Ella Johnson..." He said quietly. Fucking shivers...

"So you keep saying. I'm starting to think that you are doing this to me on purpose."

He fucking smirked. He was practically oozing smugness and charm and sexiness. My mouth was suddenly so dry when he looked at me with that sinful smile of his.

"I can't help it. You saying things like that make it seem like you've issued a challenge. And I do like to win challenges."

Great. This was just fucking great. Good bye my ovaries. My face was burning yet again and whoa boy, I really needed to take a shower. It was a fucking Niagra Falls in my panties again and seriously, how much fluid could my body produce in one fucking day? It was so ridiculous and that smug bastard was enjoying this.

"Umm, is this a private moment or can we all just focus on the disaster at hand?" Faye said. She crossed her arms and she was looking mighty anxious. I knew I should've been just as anxious, but Jasper's magic hands were taking the edge off. That and his burning eyes and that fucking smirk.

"I can hide you away if you want to..." Jasper suggested. That sneaky bastard. It was so unfair for him to tempt me like that. Especially now that I couldn't help but to think the things we could do in that hiding place...

I wanted to beg him to take me faaaar away from my crazy mother, but that would not end prettily for me. Mom would tear the venue down looking for me and if I wasn't anywhere to be seen, she would take it out on me once we got back home.

Then again, maybe Jasper was willing to sweep me off my feet and never return me to my mom? I would be down for that. You know, just as friends. Because there was no way I was into Jasper Whitlock like that. Hell no.

I just had to keep reminding myself that I was worth more than the second place.

"Uh no, she's so not going with you. You are not leaving me alone with your mom, Ella!"

What a bitch. Using emotional blackmail on me like that. Faye was using her puppy dog eyes and weepy voice. The combination that rendered my already stupid brother into an imbecile. The fact that I would've used the same tactics if I had the chance was so beside the point.

Speaking of Brody...

"Where did you leave your worse half?" I asked. It was pretty rare for me too see those two love birds separated and I wouldn't have thought that Brody was willing to leave Faye alone for even a second when we were surrounded by poisonous snakes.

"He bailed on me. Took one look at your mom and decided that he really needed to go and catch up with your uncle. I can't remember which one."

Well, wasn't Brody being all heroic and shit? I rolled my eyes. Nothing good would come out of Brody hanging out with our relatives. Especially if he was on the edge because Faye was at the mercy of our mom.

...there might be a slight chance that I needed to do some damage control and separate myself from Jasper. I mean, he was indestructible so he could take on Brody easily. And he was an outsider who hadn't been spouting backhanded compliments about Faye and me.

But did I really want to risk the two of them hanging out together? Brody would sing like a fucking canary about everything embarrassing that had ever happened to me. Was I willing to risk that _and_ lose my indestructible shield against my homicidal relatives?

Jasper looked at the door. Okay, so I thought I knew what that meant. The makeover from hell was about to begin. It was time to make the big decisions. Fuck my life...

"Last chance... I could fit us through the window and take you up into the woods..."

Fuck it was so tempting... But I couldn't. I sighed and stepped away from the sanctuary that was Jasper's arms.

"No, I can handle this. Go play with my stupid brother." I said.

Brody was going to owe me so badly for this. If he said anything gross to Jasper I would fucking shave his head and burn his CD collection.

"Me? With Brody?" Jasper's voice lost all of that delicious confidence. He was panicking just a little and it made me feel both really good that he was showing his humanity again and really bad because he was clearly so out of his league.

But he was my slave and I needed him to stop my brother from making a scene.

"Yeah. You two can bond over cars or football or something. You know, whatever it is that guys like to bond over. I need you to keep an eye on him."

His eyes found mine for a while. Was he confused? Fuck if I knew. Jasper Whitlock should definitely speak his mind more often. I felt like he could read me like an open book, but I didn't have a clue what he was thinking half the time. It was so unfair. Like all things in my life.

"Are you... worried about him?"

Faye snorted. What a bitch. I glared at her, but she just stuck out her tongue as a response. So fucking mature. You wouldn't think this bitch was 17.

"Do you kiss your girlfriend with that mouth? Stop saying gross stuff like that."

What kind of little sister would I be if I _admitted_ that I looked after my brother? It was unnatural! There was no way in hell that I cared about what happened to Brody. I just needed him out of trouble so nobody could smear the good Johnson name. More than I had already done...

"Aww, you love him. Just admit it, El."

Gross! That was so wrong on so many levels.

"You better shut your mouth, Faye. We wouldn't want anything to happen to your beautiful hair..."

Vague threats were the best. If you said them menacingly enough, people's imaginations would do the scaring part better than anything I could've thought of.

"Now now, Ella. It's perfectly fine to show your brother that you care." Jasper joined in. What an asshole. These traitors were ganging up on me. I wanted to scream.

"Don't you dare tell him anything of the sort! He's going to get the wrong idea."

The door was opened again and my mom stormed in. Like, she pushed the door open with so much force that it slammed into the cabin wall and then she stroke a power pose once she was inside the cabin. Everyone was fucking after my drama queen title today.

"Ella darling, I thought it would be wonderful for us girls to get ready together for the evening!"

Gag. I took a deep breath and tried to ignore the way my mom's eyes observed my close proximity to Jasper. Yes, I would be digging my way through some deep shit. Life was fucking beautiful.

"Of course. That would be great, mom!"

000

Okay, it was time to panic. I looked at myself in the full-body mirror my mom had in her cabin. I didn't know whether I should be freaking the fuck out or if I should be impressed by my mom's talent.

I did not look like the same almost 16 year old girl who just had her first kiss. Oh no. Mom had pulled out the big guns with this one.

"You look so beautiful, Ella." She crooned in my ear. An involuntary smile took over my face. Damn mom and her fucking grip on my self esteem. Marilyn Johnson could destroy me or make me feel like I was perfect with just few words.

I was wearing a black dress made out of thick silk. It had a boat neckline that covered all of my chest and long, form fitting sleeves. The back was completely open and I could feel my underwear sticking out slightly. I had a bad feeling about that, but there was nothing I could do in this situation. Mom had decided that this was my outfit, and that meant I had no saying in any of this.

The hem was a little too short for my liking. It only came to my mid-thigh and while I was a big fan of short dresses, I didn't particularly want to wear something this revealing while this whole fake boyfriend thing was going on.

My hair was pulled up and I had large statement earrings on. They were golden, which was a rarity for me. I had cool undertones so I usually went with either silver or white gold with my jewellery. Mom clearly had a theme going on since I was also sporting a chunky golden bracelet and way too high, golden heels. I could barely stand up with them and my feet were already screaming for mercy. The fucking things I did in the name of beauty.

Jasper would have to be my walking stick the entire night...

"Isn't this a little too much? I mean, it looks like..." I tried to think of the right words. I didn't want to poke the bear.

"Like?" An arched eyebrow. Bad fucking sign.

"Like... I'm trying too hard?"

Holy shit that glare was scary. I hunched my shoulders and tried to make myself as small as possible. Was that an actual wrinkle I saw on my mom's forehead? God help us if the day has come when botox can't stop her wrinkles.

"Ella, surely you understand that you must look perfect tonight. I heard what happened with you and Jasper today and while I am so, so proud of you, you really need to nail it tonight. He'll be yours if you play your cards right."

Could these fucking people just realize already that Jasper was taken?! Like, they all knew that he had a girlfriend. And she wasn't even just a girlfriend, but his fucking wife of 50 years.

"Mom... It wasn't real. We were just... acting. Like we are supposed to be." I tried. It was pointless, of course, but at least I could look Jasper in the eye and say that I fucking tried.

"All the more reason you need to give your all tonight. You cannot let this boy slip past your fingers."

Here we fucking go. Please kill me now. Mom was actually going to pimp me out to Jasper Whitlock. This was just great...

"He has a girlfriend! Why do you keep forgetting that?"

Shit... I shouldn't have said that. Mom gave me the death glare and dug her long nails into my shoulders. Thank god I had full sleeves on, because those talons would've pierced my skin. I winced and lowered my eyes to the ground.

"Do not take that tone with me, Ella. I am telling you to steal that boy for yourself by any means necessary. Can you even comprehend what it will be like if our family shows up to the next family reunion without Jasper? You would be ruined for good."

I couldn't believe this was happening. It was so fucking insane and so wrong on so many levels! This whole fucking thing was so not my idea! I was more than happy to just get sick and stay home, but mom had to open her fucking mouth and spew out the stupidest shit ever.

"But mom..."

"Quiet now, Ella. I am giving you this opportunity to do what's best for this family. Brody and Faye are going to announce their engagement today, so you will have the opportunity to seduce Jasper. Make him fall in love with you Ella, or I swear to god you are not going to like the consequences."

I was knee-deep in shit. The woman was crazy. And so fucking scary... I had no doubt in my mind that I would be punished if Jasper didn't miraculously fall in love with me in the next 5-ish hours.

I felt a familiar bubble of panic entering my chest so I quickly excused myself and ran to the bathroom. Faye was finishing up her shower and she jumped in alarm when I pushed my way into the steamy room.

"Sorry. I need the bathroom. I have to call Angela..."

I guess she could hear the incoming meltdown in my voice as she just nodded her head, wrapped a towel around her body and left the bathroom.

It was all just too fucking much. I dialed Angela's number and prayed to god she wasn't busy with anything.

" _Hey, how's it going over there?_ "

Oh sweet Jesus, her voice was the most beautiful thing in the world. I felt a little bit better already. Like I wasn't alone with my issues. I let out a shuddering breath. This should be fun.

"Mom wants me to sleep with Jasper. Tonight."

" _...excuse me?_ "

Damn, I was good at surprising people. I should look into it to see if I could make a living doing that. Vampires and smart high school girls could be my super niche clientele.

"Yeah. She gave me one of those 'expensive hooker' makeovers and then she told me I need to make my move tonight. Ang, I'm freaking out over here."

" _Why would she do that? I mean, I know she wants you to hook up with a Cullen, but this is a little much even for Marilyn."_

But was anything 'a little much' for my mom? The woman was a fearsome natural disaster. I kicked my heels off and started pacing around the bathroom, avoiding wet spots so I wouldn't ruin my dress.

"That fucking devil's spawn told everyone that I kissed Jasper and then my mom heard about it and now she thinks something is happening between us and..."

" _Wait, wait, wait.. Back up for a second. You kissed Jasper Hale?!"_

"Well yeah, but that was only because he was going to kill Granny May and it was the only thing I came up with to distract him."

" _He tried to kill Granny May? Ella, what's going on?"_

Shit. I wasn't making any sense at all. Angela instructed me to take deep, calming breaths. It was a solid advice. She guided me through my minor panic attack by breathing with me. It was helpful.

" _Okay. Now tell me everything."_

I did. I told her everything that had happened today so far. It felt like a fucking lot. This wedding had only been going on for a day and a half and it felt like at least two weeks had gone by. There was a possibility that I'd be sporting grey hair by the time this shit show was finally over.

"This is no time for you to be gossiping with Angela. Hang up and come here so I can do the finishing touches to your outfit!"

Well, that was fun while it lasted. Angela hadn't even had the chance to tell me what she thought about everything. She had been so busy trying to calm me the fuck down.

"Hey, I need to go. Mom's not done with me yet."

I had no idea what her 'finishing touches' were supposed to be. I was in full make-up, my hair was up, I had the dress and I even had all the accessories on. What else was there?

" _I don't like this at all. Where's Jasper? He's supposed to be preventing these things."_

"Hanging out with Brody. Okay, she's breaking down the door in like two seconds. I'll call you later."

I left my sanctuary. Faye was already dressed up and mom was trying her best to thin out Faye's thick hair by ripping it with a hairbrush. Damn, someone was in a mood.

Mom's eyes scanned over my body like she was trying to find a flaw she could dig into. You know, it wouldn't be very mom-like for her to actually build up her daughter's confidence. Oh no, that would mean she couldn't control me anymore and she couldn't have that. I was too much of a screw-up to roam free.

"Turn around. Let me look at the back." She ordered.

I really had a bad feeling about this...

She walked over to me and started pulling at the dress to see if everything fit perfectly. She pinched the skin on my back and I wanted to throw up. I had been pigging out on food ever since we got here so I knew I was a little more bloated than normally. Not quite as toned as I usually was.

"You should spend tomorrow morning exercising a little. Being fat just doesn't suit your frame at all."

Fucking daggers right into my back. I sucked in my stomach just a little bit more. Mom just loved to make me feel worthless piece of crap. What a woman.

"Okay mom..." I whispered.

She started pulling on the fabric that was barely covering my ass upwards. My stomach clenched unpleasantly. She had to be up to something. There had to be some kind of agenda here. Why did she pick this particular dress?

"Take off your underwear, dear. It keeps sticking out."

Uh, excuse me? She wanted me to do what? I fucking knew it! She was doing everything in her fucking power to turn Jasper into a horny teenager who couldn't keep his hands away from her daughter. This was just fucking great.

"No way! Mom!" I squeaked out. My whole face was red and whoa boy did I look unattractive. Did I always look like this when I blushed? Note to self; stop blushing in front of Jasper Whitlock.

"You can't be seen with your underwear sticking out. Take them off."

Yeah, imagine if people thought that I used _underwear_. Oh, the shame! I wanted to throw a fucking temper tantrum of the century and sass my mom to next year, but all I managed to get out of my mouth was a super meek "But..."

I had an attitude problem. And by that I mean that I had no attitude when it came to my parents and that was a problem. Was this actually going to happen?

"Is that... appropriate? What if someone sees that Ella doesn't have anything under her dress?" Faye asked timidly.

God bless that girl. I could've kissed her right then. Faye was a team player and if we stood up against my mom together...

...we would lose spectuacularly and both of us would be in trouble. I was fine with Faye getting into trouble with my mom, but I didn't want to be dragged down with her. I appreciated her efforts to stand up for me, but fuck if I was going to join her resistance and get killed in the process. No thank you.

"It'll be fine. Now, Ella."

What the fuck was I supposed to say to that? I bit back every petty comment I wanted to say and just did what she wanted. I knew my mom and she would rip my panties off herself if I refused to do it.

I was so fucking pathetic. Willing to do anything just to please my mommy.

000

Oh my god. I was going to die from boredom! Why did I have to sit and listen as Ariel gave a speech about her perfect life with _her Justin_? This was an unusually cruel punishment that the universe had stuck me with. I was pretty sure her voice could be used as a weapon of mass destruction.

The rehearsal dinner was at a full swing. I never understood why people had rehearsal dinners to begin with. Like, what the fuck was the point of doing this? I was pretty damn sure that nobody in this room actually _wanted_ to be here. I mean, besides Ariel and aunt Hannah. Hell, even Justin looked like he wanted to get away from this place.

Thank god I wasn't invited to the wedding rehearsal that was tomorrow before lunch. I wasn't a close enough relative so I didn't need to be there. It was bad enough that I would have to sit through the real thing.

This had to be the fucking reason why this stupid wedding lasted for four days. The she-devil wanted to have her cake and eat it too. Rehearsal dinner tonight, her birthday party tomorrow and her wedding on Saturday. I'm willing to bet anything that Ariel wanted to celebrate her 18th birthday with our relatives because she was a friendless bitch and nobody wanted to celebrate with her.

"Is she seriously talking about the fucking house again?" I mumbled to Jasper.

He and Brody had apparently gotten along really well. That thought scared me shitless. It could only mean bad things to me. I would have to interrogate Jasper as soon as it was socially acceptable to ditch this dead party. I needed to know what my dear older brother had told him.

Then I could start planning my revenge.

"You did say that she doesn't have that much material..."

I grinned and tried to stop myself from snickering. I didn't want to have any unnecessary attention brought onto me tonight. Not while I was going full commando.

Jasper draped his arm over my chair. He gave a subtle nod to the table to our right. Aunt Gloria's table. She was so fucking nosy. I rolled my eyes and leaned against his frame. Oooh, that smell of his... It was awakening my hormones and this was so not the time for that to happen.

But how to tell him that? I needed his back-up if I wanted to survive this night without leaving puddles on the floor.

"Can you dial down your sex powers for tonight?" I said in a whisper. It was so fucking handy that he had a super hearing. It made secret conversations so much easier.

Jasper's stone mask fell once again and he let out the tiniest of snorts. He covered it up with a subtle cough, but I heard it all. Okay, shocking him was so much fun! I should continue to do that just to see his adorable reactions.

"My sex powers?"

I rolled my eyes. As if he didn't know what I was talking about. He was clearly just fishing for compliments.

"You know, that thing you have going on that turns me on like every other second? Yeah, tone that down."

I made the mistake of looking into his eyes. Shiiiiit... I watched them turn into a darker colour. It wasn't full black yet, but my words definitely affected him. I wondered if there was anything I could say that would make his eyes turn pitch black...

Bad Ella! Get your fucking mind out of the gutter already! I was supposed to be keeping it together for tonight. I couldn't allow myself to get all hot and bothered!

It would've been so much easier if I had the chance to rub one out after the hiking incident, but I had literally been dragged away by my mom and there was just no way in hell I was going to diddle with myself while she was in the hearing range. Gross!

"And why do I need to do that? You seem to enjoy it so much, lil' darling..."

My eyes fucking rolled to the back of my head. How was it possible for someone to sound so fucking sinful and sexy? My lower abdomen tingled pleasantly. He was fucking doing this on purpose!

But... two could play this game.

I reached up and cupped the back of Jasper's neck. I pulled his head down and got so close to his ear that my lips almost touched it.

"Because I'm not wearing any underwear..."

Jasper inhaled sharply. His hand came to rest on my waist and he laid his forehead on the crook of my neck.

"Fuck..."

Jasper Whitlock and swearing was a dangerous combination. My body was on fire, big fucking surprise, and my mind was starting to get all fuzzy. Why did I want to stop him from doing his sexy mojo again...?

"You are a fucking wonder, Ella Johnson."

The flood gates were open. Shit. What was I going to do now? Stopping this, whatever it was, didn't feel like the right choice. I wanted to continue. I was in a room full of my relatives, my nemesis was trying to commit the perfect murder by boring us all to death and I wanted to continue.

There was something so seriously wrong with me.

Married. Vampire. 167 years old. And once again, married.

Yeah, my brain didn't function anymore. I tried thinking about my laundry list of reasons why all of this was a bad idea, but it was so fucking hard to convince myself when Jasper was making my entire body tingle.

"...and if _some_ people could detangle for a moment, I would like to take this moment to thank all of you for coming to witness our union of love."

Fuck you, Ariel Reagan. It was so petty to interrupt people trying to get it on. Jasper chuckled huskily and lifted his head from my neck. I shivered. He was colder than your average human by now, but somehow I felt warmer when he was close to me.

"That bitch is just jealous because her sex life must be sorely lacking."

What can I say? I was feeling a little bit spiteful. My brain was still trying to catch up to what was happening so I was just all feelings. I would probably feel a little bit grateful that the devil's spawn interrupted us, but right now I was miffed that she had interrupted our game.

"How would you know?" Jasper asked, his voice sounding a lot more normal. Our short moment was over, but I had a funny feeling that there would be more moments in my future. That might be a problem.

"Well, do you get the feeling that Justin is a beast in the sack, because I sure as hell don't."

He laughed quietly. God that was a beautiful sound.

"Looks can be misleading..."

Was he talking about me? What, did he think that people who looked like me usually weren't so fucking thirsty for some action that they were horny all day every day? I thought that was pretty normal for every teenager. Then again, I guess it had been a while since he was a teenager...

Wait, his body was still a teenager's body, right? So shouldn't he be riddled with hormonal shit too? Or did hormones go away with the blood circulation and the breathing and stuff like that? I wanted to ask him, but this really wasn't the place to have this conversation.

Or the one that we were currently having...

Right, it was time to change the topic and hope that my no-no zone went back to normal before the dinner was over and the mingling started...

"What did you get up to with my stupid brother?" There, that was a completely natural question to ask. It didn't matter who overheard us. I was determined to see this thing through.

"I would just _love_ to tell you, but unfortunately it's a secret."

Hey, would you look at that? The last remains of my horny thoughts disappeared and a sense of dread came over me. That couldn't be good. Not at all.

What the fuck had I done?

* * *

Author's Final Notes:

I'm back, bitches! Did you guys miss me? I certainly hope not, because missing and waiting brings expectations and when you don't meet those expectations... yikes!

I was originally hoping to fit everything related to the rehearsal dinner to this chapter, but I realized that it would be over 10 000 words for one chapter... So I made the smart decision to split it into two chapters. Because we love that slooooow pace here! It's not filler, it's 'character building'. :D

On the upside, the next chapter should be ready by the end of this week. It'll be the 'Deathly Hallows part 2' to this chapter. Hopefully.

Okay! People, thanks for the 4000+ views and the nearly 80 follows and all the comments and favorites! You guys are awesome. Give yourself a pat on the back. You've deserved it!


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12: The Dangerous Game**

* * *

Ariel finally shut her ugly mouth and blissful silence fell upon our merry dining group. Our entree plates were carried out and a plate of dried-ass chicken replaced them. I wrinkled my nose as I chewed on the cardboard tasting meat. It's great that the kitchen staff weren't too bold with the seasoning... who would want their food to actually taste like something?

Then again, I don't know if I've ever eaten _good_ wedding food. Everything was always plain and dry and/or burnt. If I ever managed to trick someone to the alter, I'd fucking hire some random granny to handle the food.

"On a scale of one to throwing up, how bad does this taste to you?" I asked quietly from Jasper. He was putting on a brave face, but this shit must've tasted extra gross to him. I swallowed another dry mouthful and gulped on my water.

His face told me everything I needed to know. It was like he had to give himself a silent pep talk before swallowing anything down. Poor Jasper. I wondered what made blood taste so yummy to vampires.

I didn't mind the taste of blood. I had a bad habit of licking every little scrape I ever got, so I was familiar with the taste of my own blood. It didn't taste much like anything, really. Kind of like putting a penny in your mouth. How did it taste to him?

"It's... passable." He mumbled back. What a fucking liar. I snickered and nudged his ribs with my elbow.

"Yeah right. I can tell how much you are enjoying yourself."

We were sharing a table with just Brody and Faye, which was surprising. Was this Ariel's poor attempt to apologize for what happened earlier? If that was the case, the bitch would be in a cruel surprise. I was not going to forgive and forget. The she-devil was going down, one way or another.

Brody and Faye were completely absorbed with each other, so it was essentially like sitting alone with Jasper. I just had to keep my voice down, because I could never be sure if Brody was listening in. For a guy, he was super good at multitasking.

I had to give up half-way through my eating. My jaw was getting sore for all the chewing and my mom's little off-hand comment about my weight was nagging somewhere in the back of my mind.

I didn't think that I was fat or anything. I knew just how slim and toned I was, but it was just one of those things that I couldn't shake off. Like how I couldn't cut my hair into a more decent lenght or how I refused to leave my house without a full face of make up on.

"It's just something that... I'm not used to eating."

I wanted to make a joke so badly. 'Not fresh and raw enough for you?' I had to bite on my tongue to keep myself from saying those words out loud. So not the right place for vampire jokes.

A soft clinking of glass drew my attention away from my self-esteem issues and Jasper's vampiric tendencies. Mom stood proudly up from her seat. Dad actually rolled his eyes before he caught himself and eyed the people around him to see if anyone had noticed.

If I had any balls, I would've used that as a blackmail material. But I don't think I'd ever actually dare to stand up to my parents, so it was another pointless observation for Ella Johnson.

"Hello everyone. First of all, I want to congratulate Ariel and Justin for _finally_ tying the knot. Marriage is a sacred, beautiful thing and it's wonderful that you two will get to experience it first-hand. I hope I'm not taking too much attention away from you, dear, but I do have some wonderful news that I would love to share with the people dearest to me; my family."

Holy fuck, she was laying it sooooo thick. Ariel's fake face morphed into an unattractive sneer and I was fucking living for it. For once in my life, I was so fucking happy that my mom was who she was!

"I think I should start to worry about your sanity..." Jasper whispered into my ear.

Whooo... The fucking goose bumps and the shivers! What did we discuss about turning me on? And when did he move so close to me? God help my fucking heart...

He was smirking down at me. That smug, sexy bastard. He would fucking get his before this wedding was over... and after that I would ride his ass so hard...

With the homework and tutoring! That was all I was thinking about. There was absolutely no way an image of me straddling him crossed my mind. No fucking way.

"Hey, don't judge me! You would enjoy destroying her too."

"Probably yes, but I'm the big bad vampire remember? Being a monster comes with the territory."

I rolled my eyes. He was having way too much fun. And it was so fucking infectious. It caused my brain to stop working. The game was back on. This was such a bad idea...

I got up from my seat and wrapped my arms around Jasper's neck. I bit my lower lip and grinned at the surprised look on his face. I lowered myself right into his lap, squirming just the tiniest bit.

Jasper growled so softly that I was sure I was the only one who heard it. One of his arms wrapped itself around my waist. His other hand came to rest on my bare knee. I couldn't look away from his beautiful face. His eyes darkened even more. I felt so fucking accomplished right there and then.

Fuck yeah, I could turn the sex god on. That one look of his did more to build up my self esteem than any compliment my mom had ever given me. He found me hot.

"You play a dangerous game, Ella Johnson..." He said softly. Or more like growled. He didn't sound all that human and my body was instantly on fire, like someone had hit a lightswitch.

"I'd like to think that you started all of this, Major Whitlock..." I whispered into his ear.

And it was so true. He was the one who was trying to destroy my few grey braincells with his sexy superpowers. I was just playing along... or so I said to myself.

"... so with that, I would love to officially welcome Faye into our family."

Cheers erupted all around us, but I was barely aware of them. I was way too busy snuggling my face into Jasper's neck. He smelled so fucking amazing. His wicked fingers were massaging their way up and down my thigh, always stopping at the hem of my dress.

Honestly, if I dropped dead right then and there, I'd be okay with it. Was there a better way to die than rubbing myself against Jasper Whitlock? You know, besides fucking him?

"I can't believe you two. It's our big moment and you are about to smash right in front of us." Brody's annoying voice broke through my delicious haze and brought me back into the moment.

Jasper's magic hands stopped their movement and then he retracted the hand on my leg completely. What a fucking disappointment. I took one last deep breath and lifted my head away from his comforting scent. I blinked stupidly as my brain raced to caught up with the situation.

Right... we were surrounded by nosy relatives and not in any place private... and, let's not forget that Jasper was a married man and we were just getting caught in the moment.

Why did that start to sound more and more false to me?

000

"Do you think you can handle yourself for ten minutes?" Jasper asked as the last of the plates were cleared out. I looked at him, confused about the question.

He looked a little sick, like he was in pain.

"I can't actually... digest human food." He clarified.

Oh! That made perfect sense. I had always wondered why the Cullens couldn't just suck it up and eat their damn school lunches to people wouldn't be so suspicious of them. We had just thought that it tasted disgusting to them. So there was a valid reason for it after all.

Now that I think about it, he had excused himself yesterday too, right before we went back to our cabin. Wow, the more you know.

"You don't have to worry about me. I'm a big girl, Jasper. You should worry about yourself a little more."

I mean, what could I say? Don't leave me or I'll fall apart and ruin everything? I couldn't be that selfish. Not with a guy who was bending over backwards to make sure I was safe and remained relatively sane. I could handle a few minutes without my indestructable bodyguard.

Jasper gave me a look. Like he didn't quite believe me. I should probably be insulted. I was all about that girl power and being independent and all that jazz, but honestly, I knew my own fucking limits and years of experience had proven that I couldn't actually handle my relatives.

I could just hope that nobody would swoop down like a fucking vulture the moment Jasper left my side.

"...I'll be quick. You should stay close to your brother and Faye..."

Yeah right. Like I would get in there so Brody could use me as a deflection to the crowd of people interrogating him and Faye. If there was something my family loved, it was gossip about the other family members. I guess there was a chance that some of them actually were happy for Brody and genuinely interested in learning more about the newest family love story... but most of them were just gathering information so they could plan their next moves. It was a fucking battle to the death in this family.

"I'll just go and get a drink." I said. Jasper gave me one last uncertain look and then he started walking away quickly. Aww, he was trying to keep his human cover and still hurry back to me.

He really should stop being so damn considerate and caring. His behavior was making it so fucking hard to not have feelings for him. It was all too fucking stressful.

I didn't want to have feelings for Jasper Whitlock. I wanted to keep all of this strictly professional. I wasn't so stupid as to think that I could ever actually have him for real. He had his perfect match already and I wasn't going to hurt myself by pining after a guy who was so damn happily married.

I just had to convince my heart to stop reacting whenever he was close by.

Yeah, good luck with that you stupid girl... God, I wanted to get so wasted...

I went to the open bar, trying my fucking hardest to stay upright with my killer heels, and contemplated my chances of snatching a glass of wine or something even stronger. I didn't like wine, it tasted like death, but it did the job of messing me up quick. The bartender eyed me warily. Well fuck. No way he was going to give me anything stronger than a tea.

"One diet coke, please."

The guy handed me my drink and I could feel his eyes on me as I walked away. Did I really have to wait until tomorrow to escape my life for a moment?

I leaned against the wall and sipped at my drink. Trying to make myself into a wallflower. I didn't want to deal with my fucked up family. I stared as employees rearranged the tables to make room for dancing. My feet were hurting and I was pretty sure they'd start shaking soon. It was so uncomfortable, but I couldn't just go and sit down while people were working.

I glanced to the general direction of my brother. I couldn't actually see him, but I knew he was somewhere stuck in that cluster of people. A little to the left was my mom and dad, drinks in their hands and a couple of empty glasses on a table next to them.

It seemed like most of my relatives had a drink in their hands. That wouldn't end prettily. I really hoped Brody had an escape plan at the ready. Things got ugly once people started drinking and the old bat went to retire for the night.

I hadn't witnessed it, but I heard that cousin Harry and Nahid got into a wrestling match at Harry's wedding. And then Harry's mom and Lydia's mom got into it and my dad had to break them apart by threatening to call the police. Not that he'd actually do anything like that. We didn't air out our dirty laundry in front of law enforcement.

"Did you lose your boyfriend, Ella?"

I nearly vomited in my mouth. An unpleasant shudder wracked through my body. I took a deep, calming breath and plastered a fake smile on my face. My day was just getting better and better.

"No, I know where he is. But are you sure Justin is still accounted for, or did he perhaps get the urge to escort our dear cousin Lydia around again?"

The bane of my fucking existance had the gall to actually glare at me. Did the bitch want to continue our conversation in the woods? My free hand balled into a fist.

Just in case.

I did feel a little bad about using Lydia like this, but not nearly enough to stop annoying Ariel. Lydia would understand... or maybe she wouldn't, but I didn't care about that right now.

"That was such a low blow, Ella. I can't believe you'd be so desperate that you'd go around spreading false rumours like that just because you are jealous of me." Ariel hissed out.

Calm yourself, Ella... don't you dare take the bait. It was Ariel's big party and I would be in so much trouble if I got caught messing with her. It wasn't worth it, no matter how fucking good it would feel to break that plastic nose.

"What are you talking about? I just repeated what I had heard. I think it was Elena who mentioned it to me. I'm sure she had heard it from reliable sources."

If there was a possibility that I could ruin Ariel's only valid friendship, I was going to take it. Nothing was off limits when it came to this bitch. No blow was low enough with her.

"Don't even try that, you stupid bitch. I know it was just you trying to save face so Granny May wouldn't find out that you have a fake boyfriend."

Whoa, if looks could kill... we'd both drop dead at the same time probably. I was getting dangerously riled up. I got angry very easily and it was super hard for me to control it. Especially around this devil's spawn.

"I swear, you get more and more delusional as years pass by. Does it look like Jasper is my fake boyfriend? Honestly, I'm worried about your mental health, sweetheart."

I knew she couldn't have anything concrete. She wouldn't be desperate enough to confront me and hope that I'd slip up if she did. Granny May and aunt Hannah would be the ones doing the confronting. Hell, aunt Gloria would most likely join in just to rub it in to my mom.

She was just fishing and I was not going to take the bait.

Ariel stepped into my personal space for the second time in the same day and I had to look at her fake face up close for the second time today. My god, how could someone so masterfully cut up look so disgusting? Her inner ugliness just shone right through her plastic mask. It was fucking pathetic.

"There's no fucking way a guy like that would ever even look at you twice. Let's face it, you can't attract a man no matter what you do or how fucking slutty you dress. Honestly, this is just pitiful, _sweetheart_."

Oooooh, them fighting words! I raised one of my eyebrows, refusing to let her see how much her words affected me. Johnsons did not show weakness in front of their enemies. Hell no. We fought back.

"Oopsie, how clumsy of me..." I said and then deliberately thrust my glass of diet coke forward so it spilled all over Ariel's white and lacy dress. She shrieked like a fucking banshee. God, that was a beautiful sound. So satisfying.

"You fucking bitch!" She screamed, looking down at her dress. I fought bravely against the satisfied smile that wanted to come to the surface. Instead I knitted my eyebrows and gave a little pout.

"I'm soooo sorry! Ooh, I hope that doesn't stain... You should probably go and see if someone can clean that up for you."

No regrets. It felt so good to see her furious face. All red and puffy. If she started to cry, I'd probably have an orgasm.

"I hate you so much! You always ruin everything!" She continued.

"Oh honey, I hate you too. It's so nice that we understand each other so well! Now, if you say anything about my boyfriend again, I'll decorate your face with my fingernails, got it?"

I saw Justin's form from the corner of my eye. He was nearly running across the dancefloor to try and get to us before things escalated even more. I pushed my body closer to the horrible monster in front of me and pressed my mouth to her ear. I was around her height thanks to these horrible heels. It made things easier.

"You know, if I didn't know better I'd say that you are the jealous one. You shouldn't be so salty that Jasper is so much better than that sorry creature you managed to drag home. Green is so not your colour. It makes your skin even more sallow..." I whispered so nobody else overheard us.

Ariel let out another outraged shriek and pushed me away. Like, really pushed. I let out a surprised yelp and tried to find my balance, but it was hopeless. I started to fall back and I closed my eyes, bracing for the impact.

Instead of the floor, my body hit a pair of arms that were becoming wonderfully familiar to me. I sighed in relief and opened my eyes to see Jasper above me, glaring daggers at Ariel.

"What's going on here?" He asked, sounding so on the edge. His eyes were just dark amber, so I figured he wasn't about to start a happy murder spree with my relatives, but I still straightened myself into a proper standing position and put a hand on his chest.

Just in case.

We could murder Ariel some other day, when there wouldn't be any witnesses...

"Ariel's being a bitch, but that's nothing new."

"Shut up! Look what she did to my dress!" The wicked witch screeched pathetically.

Jasper's hold of my waist tightened and I could feel his chest vibrating. God I loved it when he went all 'grrr'. So damn sexy...

"So Ella accidentally spilled her drink and your response was to push her?" His voice was so deadly. God I needed my panties so badly... I pressed my thighs tighter together and hoped that nobody noticed that my damn hormones were active once again.

"IT WAS ON PURPOSE!"

"Honey... our guests are staring..." Justin's quiet whisper broke the tense mood. He placed his hand on Ariel's shoulder and tried to tug the devil reincarnated away from us.

I was suddenly very aware that everyone had stopped what they were doing and were just watching us. Fucking vultures. They were just itching for the first fight of the night to happen. It was almost guaranteed that I would clash with Ariel and usually those blow-outs were spectacular.

Too bad for them that our partners were hell bent on keeping us from getting into a proper cat fight.

Ariel looked around like a fucking deer caught in the headlights. She gave a miserable sniff and allowed Justin to drag her away. What a bitch. God how much I hated her.

"I swear... I left you alone for 15 minutes and you managed to get into trouble. I really can't leave you alone, can I?" Jasper sighed. His arms were kept firmly around me.

Oh fuck... I was in so much trouble.

"I guess not. It's a good thing that I'm fantastic to be around then, isn't it?"

Jasper gave me a tender look that went straight to my heart. Like, I think my heart skipped a beat. Should I be worried? Hearts weren't supposed to do that, no matter how often it was used in trashy romance novels. Then again, my entire life felt like one big trashy romance novel, so maybe I was having all those cliche things happening to my body.

"I should probably admit that I did spill my drink on purpose. She was being an asshole." It was only fair to tell him. He shook his head and grinned. Damn his smile was so beautiful... Why did vampires have to be so damn alluring?

"Oh, I know. I saw the whole thing. It was well-deserved. She really is a bitch."

Be still my fucking heart. Jasper Whitlock really had a way with his words. He knew exactly what to say to get into a girl's heart... and her pants if he wanted to.

He picked up a wayward lock of my hair. He played with it for a while and then pushed it behind my ear. I shivered. Soooo much trouble. I should take a step back. We were starting to get into a dangerous territory and it would only end with me having my heart broken...

But honestly, who could fight someone like Jasper Whitlock?

000

Brody collapsed onto his seat with a loud smack. The entire table shook from the impact. Jasper had to use his vampiric superpowers to steady our glasses before they were knocked down. Faye sat next to Brody with much more grace, but she was looking mighty ragged as well.

"Tought night?" I asked with a grin. I should feel bad, but I was having the time of my life. I always felt better when it was Brody who had to suffer and not me. Call me evil. I just called it 'being the younger sister'.

"We are related to fucking vultures, El. Vultures!" Brody groaned. Faye nodded her head enthusiastically. Ha! It looks like she finally got a real taste of our relatives. Let's see if she felt like belittling my dramatics again.

"You're telling me? Dude, who do you think has to bear the brunt of their actions?"

Like, excuse me but I wanted to get some recognition for the hard work I did, being the fucking black sheep of the family. Maybe this experience would make Brody show me some fucking appreciation every once in a while. Fat chance of that ever happening, but a girl can dream right?

"I need a drink..." Brody muttered.

"Again, I'm way ahead of you bro. It's a no-go. The fucking bartender is one of the nosy ones. He's not going to give us anything, so unless you have a way to break into the booze storage tonight, we'll have to suffer through this sober." It was a good thing that the torture was almost over. Just a little bit more and then it would be acceptable to leave this shit show.

Jasper's magic fingers found their way to my neck and started massaging my stress away. Thank fucking god for this miracle of a man. This whole empath thing was so fucking handy and I was loving the creative ways Jasper was using to make me relax. It meant the world to me that he didn't use his powers on me without my permission and instead chose to help take the edge off in a more natural way.

My eyes rolled to the back of my head and I let out a small moan. What would it take to make my homework slave to continue giving me these massages once the weekend was done? Maybe I should let him kill one of my relatives so I could guilt him into being my massage therapist...

"Fuck it all to hell. Why do we go to these things?" Brody continued his grumbling.

"Language!" Faye hissed out. She wasn't the biggest fan of swearing. She did do it herself from time to time, but normally she preferred to keep things clean. Again, I had no idea why she was with Brody who had taught me how to be a potty mouth. It was a riddle... cloaked in a mystery.

The people around us were starting to abandon the dance floor and settle into tables with their drinks. I was mentally calculating how long it would be until the second fight of the night would start.

"How are you holding up with the crazies, Jasper?"

Wow, did my brother just ask a normal question? Holy shit! No 'sooo Jasper's? Well, call me surprised. This was so unlike him. I should think of ways to make him suffer more often if this was the result. It was almost like I had one of those mythical nice brothers.

"It's a lot to take in, that's for sure... I don't like the way everyone talks about your sister."

Be still my heart. Be. Fucking. Still!

Brody nodded his head with a stupid, knowing grin on his face. Was he reading something into Jasper's comment? He didn't know that Jasper seemed to be super protective by nature and since we had bonded, he wanted to protect me. Or that's what I told myself because I didn't even dare to think about the alternative.

"They are pretty shitty... But then again, my little sister is a bit of a shithead too so she can hold her own."

"Fuck you, Brody. If I'm a shithead then you are a fucking asshole."

And the order had been restored to the universe. Brody was back to being an idiot. His good side lasted for all of three seconds.

"I think your sister is wonderful." Jasper said with a raised eyebrow.

Shiiit... Ferrari called and they'd like to file a copyright claim for using their signature colour on my face.

Brody looked at him like he was insane. Yeah, I fucking love you too brother. Go rot in hell or something.

"Seriously? Dude... I feel sorry for you."

Faye smacked his arm lightly. Brody rolled his eyes and stuck his tongue out playfully. Faye to the fucking rescue again. She was the real MVP for today. Well, she and Jasper who was rocking a solid A+ grade for his assignment as my savior.

"Is that your mom and Gloria talking?" Faye asked after a while. We all turned to look at the bar. And wouldn't you know it, my mom was standing in front of aunt Gloria, staggering on her feet slightly. Fuck, how much had she drank?

"It's starting. Should we be proud that it's mom that kickstarts the annual bloodbath?" I wondered out loud. Brody smirked.

I was wondering if I should intervene and call for dad or something. Mom shouldn't be allowed to tarnish our good name, but at the same time, I was insanely curious to see where this thing would go. And honestly, some part of me would feel so damn good if mom had to suffer for a bad reputation for a hot second. Of course, she'd eventually take it out on me, but it could be worth it.

"Bloodbath?" Jasper asked.

"It's one of our wonderful family traditions. You've noticed how nobody actually likes anyone in this family?" Brody started to explain. I relaxed myself against Jasper's firm frame and let the boys do the talking. I was getting sleepy and my legs were so damn painful.

"Yes, I've noticed that. Kind of hard to miss, really."

No shit. My relatives could pretend all they wanted, but Jasper could read their real emotions like an open book. I was tempted to ask him if my relatives actually all loved their spouses or were they faking it all for appearances...

"Well, add alcohol to that and fists will be flying. Why, I remember this one time when dad-"

Brody's spiel was interrupted by aunt Gloria's shrill voice. Ugh, it was like nails on a chalkboard.

"HOW DARE YOU SAY MY MOLLY IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH?!"

Fucking awesome. They were comparing daughter-in-laws. This should go over well... especially with Brody and Faye in the hearing distance. Brace for impact. This party was going straight towards the iceberg.

"EXCUSE ME, BUT WHO WAS IT THAT COMPARED MY WONDERFUL DAUGHTER-IN-LAW TO A FILTHY DOG?!"

Faye winced. I felt bad for her. Aunt Gloria was like, super racist. Just a little something to top off her horrible personality. If she had said something bad about Faye... I glanced at my brother. His whole body was tensed up and his eyes were practically throwing lightning bolts at aunt Gloria.

Great...

"IF YOU WANT A DIRTY INDIAN TO TAINT YOUR BLOODLINE THEN BE MY GUEST, BUT DON'T YOU DARE SAY A BAD THING ABOUT MY MOLLY!"

"Brody? Keep it together... You can't go there and punch aunt Gloria." I said in a rush. He was about to get involved and that would be unacceptable. The kids weren't supposed to mess with the adults. Granny May was all about that age hierarchy.

While it would be nice to have company at the bottom of the foodchain, I didn't actually want my brother to suffer like I did. He had enough shit to deal with.

"Honey, listen to Ella. It's alright. I'm fine... Shhh... calm down..." Faye crooned into his neck.

"THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING WRONG WITH MY FAYE! TAKE THAT BACK RIGHT THIS INSTANT OR I'LL SHOW YOU WHAT TAINTING MEANS!"

Fuck, fuck fuck fuck fuck. I needed options. Find dad? It was possible that would backfire if aunt Gloria got physical. My dad was a lot of things, most of them not so good, but he _loved_ my mom and I pity the fool who would touch my mom in his presence.

Get out of here and let the chips fall where they may? That was the best option I could think of right now. But how would I get Brody to leave? He wanted blood. Faye's hands holding his face were the only thing stopping him.

Wait... I wanted to smack myself. Did I or did I not have a big, strong vampire with me? God I could be so fucking dense.

"We should leave now. Jasper, could you... uh, could you take my brother out? He's not listening to reason right now."

Jasper looked at me, then looked at Brody and then me again. He nodded, serious as fuck. Holy shit, he looked so hot... I had to physically shake my head to get my thoughts back on track. I could fantasize about Jasper's sexy mojo when my brother wasn't about to beat our aunt into a pulp.

"Of course. Lead the way, ladies."

Jasper moved so fucking smoothly. He took a hold of Brody's wide shoulder and lifted him up. Brody tried to struggle himself free, but that was useless. Jasper was so much stronger than his puny ass. The hand stayed on Brody's shoulder and Jasper started to nudge him forward.

I stood up with shaky legs and nearly cried out from the pain. Goddamn these fucking shoes! I turned to Faye and held out my hand.

"Help me. I can't walk in these death traps."

I wasn't about to make a fool out of myself by falling on my face. I swear I'll never understand how Lauren could fucking run in these things!

Faye came to my side and wrapped her thin arm around my waist. She hoisted me up against her hip and I threw my arm around her shoulders. She was still so much taller than me, even though she was only wearing two inch heels while mine were like eight inches.

We tried to look casual as we hobbled across the ballroom to follow the boys. I had to bite my lip to keep myself from making any noise from the horrible pain my legs were in. I promised myself I would burn these fucking shoes as soon as I got back home...

000

"Thanks, you two." Faye said tiredly as Brody walked past her into their cabin. He was still seething, but he had figured that he couldn't get past Jasper. Thank god for strong vampires who could take on my body-builder brother.

"Just make sure he gets it out of his system, okay? He can't blow up tomorrow when he sees aunt Gloria." I said.

Look at me, saving my brother's ass again. Honestly, I deserved a fucking Sister of the Year reward. Unfortunately the thought of how exactly Faye would 'get it out of his system' made me want to throw up. I couldn't believe I had to tell my brother and his fiance to have sex. So fucking gross!

"I will. Good night you two."

I sighed and looked around us. Nobody was around. Thank fucking god. I kicked off my heels and moaned at the feel of wet, cold-as-fuck grass that caressed my poor, abused feet.

"Are you alright?" Jasper asked, looking all sorts of adorable with his brows knitting together in worry.

"Hell no. I think these evil things did some permanent damage..." I muttered angrily. Of course they didn't actually damage my feet. I hadn't been in an upright position long enough for that to happen. My legs were just sore from using some deep muscles that I didn't train regularly. That, and I was sure I'd be sporting a blister or two in my toes.

"If that's the case, then let me help you out lil' darling."

Jasper swept me off my feet. Like, literally. He came up behind me and the world when swoosh as my feet left the ground. I shrieked in surprise and threw my arms around his neck. For balance.

Because it was so likely that a vampire with super strenght and quick reflexes was going to drop me on my ass. But hey, at this point I was happy to use any excuse to cuddle up to Jasper. Yeah, yeah. It was all sorts of wrong and fucked up, but I was tired, stressed out and my feet were hurting.

"By all means. To our cabin, James." I said in a horrible attempt at British accent.

Jasper looked around us. There was still nobody to be seen, so he blessed me with yet another grin that made my heart stutter and then he took off running.

I didn't even get the chance to scream before he came to a full stop in front of our cabin door. Damn he was fast! I thought about asking him to take me for a longer run, but then I realized that I was actually freezing. It wasn't the smartest choice to be outside in a short dress with an open back. I shivered and hurried inside my sanctuary.

I tossed the heels to a corner and collapsed onto the bed. The day was finally over! I didn't have to see any relatives until tomorrow. Hell, I could even skip breakfast and just say I overslept!

"Do you think worse of me if I tell you that your family is exhausting?" Jasper joked as he sat down next to me. My hands went to undo the dozens upon dozens of hairpins that were holding my hair in place. I just wanted to put on my pyjamas and just relax.

"That's putting it nicely. They are horrible snakes. Absolutely the worst sort of people."

"I've met worse, unfortunately."

I pulled the last of the hairpins out of my hair and winced when my hair fell down. Up-do's fucking hurt. I smoothed my hands across my scalp, gently pushing my hair back into its natural position and trying not to cry about how much it hurt.

Things had to be bad if I was too tired to be a drama queen.

"Are you sure? Because straight-up murdering people might be less scarring than being a part of this family."

Laughter. God he sounded beautiful when he laughed all carefree like that. It was so wrong that he didn't do that back home. Or at least he never laughed at school. He always looked like he was in pain and uninterested in everything that made life worth living.

"I can see your point. I would still say that I've met worse. Well, except maybe Ariel."

I giggled. Yeah, it was super hard to find someone worse than Ariel. There was a reason why she was my arch nemesis. My mind replayed our earlier encounter and I felt so satisfied. She had lost her cool that time around. I had managed to get under her sallow skin.

And it felt glorious.

"Maybe we should get ready for bed. You look like you'll drop any second now." Jasper said tenderly. I yawned and leaned against him for a hot second. Gathering my strenght. That's all it was. It had nothing to do with his comforting smell or the fact that his hard frame made my body tingle. Oh no. No way.

"Another night of watching night chat?"

"That, or maybe I'll start planning a perfect murder..."

Wow, he really had a way with his words. If he kept saying stuff like that, I might end up having my heart stolen. And that wouldn't be good at all...

But I would worry about that tomorrow.

* * *

Author's Final Notes:

Wooooo we're halfway there... and by that I of course mean that the wedding is halfway there. Ella just has to survive two more days without losing her mind. Can she do it? Is such a feat even possible? I doubt it...

In hindsight, this didn't really turn out as 'Deathly Hallows part 2' after all. Ah well, I'm hopeful that maybe you guys don't mind it that much. You guys just have to wait a little while longer for the blood and guts and sex. :D

If you have made it this far without being bored out of your mind, good job you! Give yourself a pat on the back. The author humbly salutes your valiant effort.

Thank you all for reading my story. And following and favoriting and commenting. You guys keep me young...

Oh, and special brownie points to anyone who recognized the line 'It was a riddle... cloaked in a mystery.' The original quote goes: 'It is a riddle, cloaked in mystery... wrapped in layers of hot, hot manliness'. Well, the _original_ original quote is different, but now I'm rambling. I'll see you all next time in chapter 13 (working title: Two sblings, a love interest and the gay best friend walk into a game room...)!


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13: And it started out so well...**

* * *

I might have discovered the path to perfect happiness. You just need to have Jasper Whitlock wake you up by running his cool fingers through your hair. Goddamn, what a fucking way to wake up!

I squinted my eyes open, fearing for a painful blast of daylight right to my face, but the room was still dark. The only real light was coming from the TV. He really did watch the night chat again. Poor guy...

I yawned and stretched my body. I was completely draped over Jasper again. Like, no part of my torso touched the mattress. It was all good. I did like my mattress to be on the harder side... wink wink, nudge nudge.

"What time is it?" I asked sleepily. It was that blissful moment between being fully awake and half-sleeping. Before my brain caught up with all of my problems. This was pretty much as close to a perfect moment that I'd ever get.

Maybe we could do sleepovers after the fake boyfriend business was over and done... what were the chances that Alice would be okay with that? A girl could always dream... right?

"It's a little over 5 am. Did I wake you up?" Jasper spoke in a hushed tone. Shivers right down my spine. I snuggled my way even closer to his body if that was even possible. What can I say, I was seizing the moment. This magnificent thing would only last for two more days.

"Mmm... maybe? I don't know. But it's a good time to wake up."

I didn't want to wake up, but it really was the perfect time if I wanted to get a good workout before I had to face my relatives again. And Jasper needed to eat or people would start to wonder about his stony skin and suddenly black eyes. He was feeling mighty hard already...

Hardy-har. Was there anything better than dick jokes in the morning? I should consider becoming a comedian. My life was just one big joke, so I would have endless material to work with.

"Really? I somehow get the feeling that you are not a morning person."

What could have possibly given him that impression? Was it the fact that I was curled up into a ball against his torso, or maybe the fact that my eyes were drooping and I had to blink like crazy just to stop them from closing again? Or maybe the fact that I jolted back awake every few seconds.

"Yeah, I'm not... but we need to go jogging..." Work brains, damnit. It was time to wake up. Face the music and all that shit.

"Jogging?"

Okay, why did Jasper feel so damn comfy when he was starting to feel like a cold marble? How was it possible for me to feel all warm and fuzzy while essentially laying on top of a really nice-smelling rock?

I groaned and rolled away from his wonderful chest and pushed myself into a sititng position. I yawned again. I needed coffee...

"Well, I need to work out and you need to find yourself a nice, juicy deer or something and eat. If someone will see us, they'll only see a loving couple going for a morning jog together. Duh."

He looked at me like I was a crazy person. Which, to be fair, was entirely possible. But, was he confused about people working out while attending to a wedding or about me ordering him to eat? That was the real question.

"It kind of feels like you're judging me right now." I said. I got out of the bed and winced as my bare feet touched the cold floor. A fucking kingdom for carpeted floors...

"Well, you are suggesting that I'll go hunting while you are near me. It's almost like you want me to attack you."

What did he mean by that? I wasn't looking for any more bruises on my skin, thank you very much. Now, if he wanted to attack me in the fun, sexual way then I was on board. But I somehow got the impression that he wasn't talking about sexy times.

I raised my eyebrow and silently asked him to elaborate. My head disappeared in the depths of the wardrobe as I tried to find the leggings I had worn yesterday for the hike. Yeah, I know it was gross to have your used clothes mixed in with the clean ones, but it was better than having them scattered all over the room. I did have a system so the clothes didn't actually touch!

…the system just happened to be 'throw everything in a big pile at the bottom of the wardrobe and hope for the best'. I glanced at Jasper's side enviously. How the hell did he manage to have everything so neatly organized? And how much would it cost for him to clean out my walk-in back home?

"When vampires hunt, our instincts take over. So trying to hunt while near humans usually end up with us attacking the humans instead of the game."

Well shit. The more you know. I clicked my tongue. Did I want to risk it? I mean, I didn't have a death wish, but would it really be all that bad? At least I wouldn't have to play nice with my nemesis anymore.

No more disapproving glares from my parents. No more verbal abuse from Granny May. And once again, no more Ariel Reagan to ruin my day. Yeah, being mauled by Jasper didn't sound so bad.

"Ehh, I'm sure it'll be fine. I trust you." I said.

And I did. Strangely enough. Fuck, I had known Jasper for just a couple of days and here I was, actually trusting him to keep me safe from his vampy side. Shit was getting weird and serious.

"You are insane, Ella. Do you understand that I might accidentally kill you if I catch a scent of your blood?" He said. He was speaking in a low voice, but whoa boy did his words pack some anger in them. He was getting all feisty and it was still so early in the day.

Honestly, how was it possible for him to be so damn insecure about his bloodsucking ways when he had been a vampire for so long? Like, what the fuck had he been doing for the last 100 years if he still had no confidence in himself?

And how hypocritical was it of me to think like that? Me, the most fucking insecure bitch I knew? But that was so beside the point.

"Well just get far enough so you can't smell my blood. You do have super speed so it's not like you can't get back quickly once you're done."

Jasper shook his head. He stepped into my personal space and took a hold of my hand. My stomach fluttered and I could feel my face warming up again. He was such a manipulative bastard. And fuck if I wasn't loving it.

"We are surrounded by woods you aren't familiar with. It's still dark out. How could I leave you by yourself? You are a trouble magnet if I ever saw one and I'm afraid of what would happen to you if I left you to your own devices while I was too far away to save you."

Dear god I wanted to jump his bones. I craned my neck so I could look up into his eyes. I wasn't sure if it was the general lack of lighting or if his eyes had turned fully black by now, but I knew that he needed to get his munchies on today.

And I could use the exercise. My body was feeling all sorts of restless because I hadn't been hitting the gym in a couple of days. I felt fat. Or flabby to be more exact.

"I'm sure I'll manage. I'm a big girl, Jasper." I said softly. He was looking so worried that I wanted to make him feel at ease. But I also wanted to get my way, so I wasn't backing down. No matter how cute he looked with his worried frown.

"Ella..." He whispered. Begged me to see his point of view. Damn it was effective. It might've worked if I didn't have my mom's words ringing in my ears. I didn't look beautiful if I was fat. And I had to look beautiful. I gave Jasper a small smile.

"You can't be around my family if your eyes are all black all of a sudden. You need to eat something. Now, I appreciate your concern more than you can even imagine, but I am going for a jog. I would like for you to come with me, but I will go alone if you decide to go hunting on your own."

What can I say, I was stubborn. And fucked up in the head. Jasper Whitlock would just have to deal with my bullshit for now.

Truth be told, I was scared shitless by the thought of going out in the dark woods by myself. While it was highly unlikely that there was some creep prowling the woods, it made me nervous. I didn't know what was out there. I didn't know what to do if a fucking mountain lion walked up to me. Forks was a small town, but I was so not one with the nature.

But I wanted to go for a run anyway. Even if Jasper wouldn't come with me.

Jasper sighed, pulling his hand back. I missed the feeling, but I pushed that thought away from me with lightning speed. I was so not going to go there. There were only bad things in that direction and I was all about that comfortable living. Instead I grabbed my clothes and excused myself to the bathroom so I could get dressed and brush my teeth.

I decidedly did not look at myself in the mirror too much. There was no point in me obsessing over my fucking looks when I was going to work out. I mean, I still wore a full face of make up when I went to the gym, but that was mostly because I usually went there after school.

It had to be some sort of a record for me. I was suuuuper slow when getting ready but I was on a schedule if I wanted to be presentable by the time breakfast rolled around. I pulled my only turtleneck sweater over my head and quickly checked to see if it covered the green-ish bruises completely. Thank fucking god it did. It was a fucking process to cover them up and I didn't want to do that so early in the morning.

Jasper was pacing around anxiously as I stepped out of the bathroom in my full workout gear. He stopped practically mid-step and gave me a good once-over. His jaw was twitching and I kind of wanted to reach up and run my fingers along his jaw line. You know, to soothe his anxiety away and totally not because I liked touching him. No sir.

"Are you seriously going to do this?" He asked. I bit my lip and tried to think about something else than how fucking cute he was when he was worried.

"Yeah. I need the exercise. And I would really like some company."

Another sigh. I guessed that this morning was not going exactly the way Jasper had intended. He straightened himself to his full height. Well, that got my attention. And the full attention of the hormones that were waking up.

There was just something about the way he carried himself... all yummy self-confidence and poise. Right... what was I thinking about?

"Fine. I will come with you, but I have some conditions. Firstly, I will pick the area where I'll leave you. I'll make sure it is perfectly safe for you and then I will leave you by yourself for exactly 30 minutes. Don't leave that spot until I'm back. And scream as loud as you can if _anything_ happens."

Ooooh, his serious tone of voice made shivers run down my spine. I could see why he had been made into a major. If he always sounded like that when he was giving orders, I could see why people would follow him. Of course my stupid-ass horny brain could only think how fucking sexy it was. Like, I wanted to kick off my leggings and offer myself up to him as a snack.

Fucking hell. What would it be like to have him tell me what to do in bed?

Bad Ella! Get your fucking mind out of the gutter. I needed to get laid so badly. Jasper was seriously messing up my head.

"Aye aye, Captain. Or Major. Damn you are hot."

I swear that I usually have a filter between my brain and my mouth. I groaned and slapped my warm cheeks. It was hopeless.

Jasper was polite enough to just smirk devilishly. What a gentleman.

000

Fucking hell it was cold. Like 'hell is freezing' cold. Note to self; never ever go running at 5.30 am in May again. God I wished I could hate my mom. Life would be so much simpler if I didn't give a rat's ass about what she thought...

"We can still go back, you know." Jasper said. There was some very not-appreciated amusement in his voice.

I rolled my eyes at him and pushed forward. I was probably going to get a fucking pneumonia, but I was not backing down. No way in hell. This fucking workout session was going to happen and I was going to fucking like every single second of it.

We took off jogging at a steady, calm pace. Warming up was very important if you didn't want to end up with your muscles so stiff you looked like a penguin when you walked. Or if you wanted to get out of bed to begin with.

And now I was thinking what it would be like to be stuck in a bed with Jasper _all day long_...

Running with Jasper was bound to be an interesting experience. I had never worked out with anyone who I couldn't keep up with. I doubted Jasper would show off, what with him being such a gentleman and all, but it was possible that I would get jealous of his ability to stay completely unaffected while I was a red, huffing and sweating mess on the ground.

"So what is the safest route to take, Major Whitlock?" I asked with a grin. His eyes got another shade darker and I felt super accomplished. He clearly liked it when I called him that. Maybe now he realized what his nicknames did to me. Like, it was sinful for someone to say my full name like that.

"I suppose we should take the yesterday's hiking path. It's familiar to both of us so we won't get lost. And you'll be able to find your way back if something happens."

Wow. He gave me way too much credit. I was horrible with directions and navigating. I had lived my entire life in Forks and I still didn't know my way across town completely. And it wasn't like Forks was a big place or anything.

I only used one marked path that I ran on whenever I wanted to run outside. It was a path that was well-lit, it had more signs than I could or bothered to count, and I had been using that route ever since I was 10 years old and running with my parents.

I had none of Jasper's confidence that I would be able to get back to the venue if something unexpected happened, but I kept that tidbit of information to myself. He would call this entire thing off if he knew how easily I got lost.

We picked up the pace and headed towards the start of the hiking path. The sun was starting to rise so it wasn't so dark anymore. I could see where to put my feet so I luckily didn't fall over every root and rock. While the idea of Jasper catching my fall was fucking hot as hell, I preferred to keep myself upright. Womanly pride or whatever.

I stopped paying attention to where we were heading, trusting that Jasper had a solid idea of our intended route. It was a bad habit of mine whenever I was travelling with someone I trusted. I had no fucking clue where I was half the time I was with my friends. I tended to get lost in my own thoughts and just focus on my body moving the way I wanted it to.

My breathing got heavier, my body warmed up and I was in the fucking zone. I was sure my face was a complete mess by now. I just hoped I didn't have a trail of snot running down my face. Or that if I had, Jasper wasn't paying any attention to it.

I found my behavior around Jasper interesting. I always wanted to look as put together as possible whenever I was around people and especially if I was around people I found attractive. Jasper was turning me into a hormonal beast so logically I should be super concerned about my looks at all times. And to some extend I was.

I wanted him to think I was beautiful. I wanted him to want me so fucking bad. So it was interesting that I was so okay with letting him see the less flattering sides of me. Like, I would never had sweating like hell and with my hair looking like a rat's nest.

Why was it like this? Was I so into him that I wanted to sabotage myself in advance? Was my brain protecting me by deciding I should let him see the worst of me so he wouldn't be interested? Or was I taking this whole honesty thing to a whole new level?

Fuck it all to hell. Did I actually trust Jasper Whitlock, the 167 year old _married_ vampire who had tried to kill me just like a week ago, so much that I was comfortable with showing him all of me. The good, the bad and the ugly as fuck?

You are an idiot, Ella Johnson. Why the fuck did you do this to yourself?!

 _Vampire. 167 years old. MARRIED._

Don't you fucking fall in love with him, you stupid girl.

I pushed myself harder. Anything to distract myself from my very scary thoughts. Jasper easily kept up with me just like I figured he'd do. As I got more and more out of breath, the tension in my body started to ease up. There really was nothing like good old exercise to keep you sane. Or whatever the correct term to 'not quite as insane' was.

It took us a good 20 minutes to get to our destination. I was gasping for breath and probably looking like shit, but I did feel better. More like myself again.

I looked around. The clearing Jasper had chosen looked really familiar. It took me a moment to piece together that he had chosen the spot we had stopped at yesterday. Wow, he was trying his hardest to make it easy for me to navigate back to the cabin if something happened. Yeah, that was not happening. I didn't even remember which way we had come...

"You are pretty fit." Jasper remarked. It might've been because he was looking just as flawless as before, but his comment felt just a little bit mocking. I waited for my breathing to even out before I paid him any attention. Let him stew for that slightly arrogant comment.

"Pretty fit? I'm sorry, have you seen my body? I'm fucking shredded."

What can I say, I was a complex human being. I was insecure about myself but hot damn I also was very aware of my looks and I knew for a fact that I had a fucking amazing body. Or I knew it whenever I couldn't hear my mom's snide little comments ringing in my ears.

I stretched my arms high above my head and leaned left and right to stretch out my core. I was also very aware that the hem of my sweater and jacket lifted up just enough so he could see a little bit of my torso.

And he looked. Whoa boy, did he look. His dark eyes followed the movement of my hips. Well, well, well... oh how the tables had turned.

Was it wrong that I was enjoying every single second of Jasper's maybe-not-so-pure impulses? Fuck yes. Did I care? Hell no!

Okay, so maybe I needed to rethink the whole concept of me being a decent human being. I was more than happy to play this little game with Jasper. And that wasn't right at all, but how the hell was I supposed to fight this insane attraction? Seriously, the boy was a walking, talking sex god wrapped in catnip or some shit.

"Uh... So, I can't sense any humans or beasts in a five mile radius. It should be safe enough... Now, what do you do if something unexpected happens?"

Wow, and we were right back to treating me like I was made of porcelain. I wasn't hating on it, to be honest. It felt so fucking good to have someone care about my well-being this much. Even if it did enforce some old-fashioned gender roles that made Angela foam at the mouth. She was a revolutionary one. Me, I was fine with being pushed into the traditional role of a damsel. As long as my prince charming respected me and worshipped the ground I walked on.

"Sit down and wait for my imminent death."

"Ella, please..."

What a buzzkill. He could be so serious. I shook my head and reached up to pat his hard cheek reassuringly. Ooh, it made me feel all tingly and shit.

"I'll scream so fucking loud that I'll make people deaf. You worry too much, Jasper Whitlock."

Jasper got this super sly look on his face. I could feel it coming and it was so unfair. I just knew he was going to get the last word in and run away before I could come up with anything good.

"Oh the irony of hearing you say that, Ella Johnson. Which one of us has made a fool-proof battle plan for this weekend again?"

Fucking hell. Touche and all that shit. He left me standing in the middle of a clearing with his fucking angelic laughter ringing in my ears.

Vampire powers were so fucking unfair.

000

Time sure flies when you're having fun. And by that I mean pushing your body to its limits so you can burn those sweet, sweet calories in just 20-ish minutes. It felt like I had just started my stretching when a certain undead someone crept up behind me.

"Sorry to interrupt, but I'm back from the hunt."

Scaring the living shit out of me in the process, of course.

"Holy fucking hell! Can you like make some noise when you approach?! I nearly fell on my face." I screeched out. Bird-dog is not the stablest of positions to be in, especially if you weren't using a proper yoga mat.

"I'm sorry... I tend to forget that you don't have vampire hearing."

Okay, that tone of voice was way too fucking smug. It was almost like he found my puny mortal ways hilarious. It was time to do something that I did amazingly well.

Make Jasper Whitlock flustered.

I laid down on the ground, thanking my lucky stars that it hadn't been raining in a while so I wasn't playing in the mud, and pushed my upper body into a cobra stretch. I had ditched the jacket during my workout so it was just the form-fitting turtleneck and it did wonders to my figure. There was a limit to what even a good sports bra could squish down and I had boobs to share. So might as well use what my mama gave me.

I didn't even need to take a peek to know that Jasper was suddenly very focused on me. I was really liking this 'Jasper thinks I'm hot' thing. Made me feel like I was fucking invincible. I let out a deep sigh as my abs stretched deliciously and then I pushed my body up into a downward dog.

Jasper was being very quiet, so it was my time to strike.

"Are you staring at my ass?"

Sorry, not sorry. It needed to happen. I looked at him under my arms and I got to see his reaction in all of its glory. He flinched like he had been burned and hurriedly turned his entire body to face the opposite direction. And now I could confirm that even the well-fed vampires couldn't blush. Jasper would've been so damn red if it was possible.

"N-no! Of course not!" He stammered, rubbing his neck and apparently he had discovered a passion for bird-watching all of a sudden. A satisfied smirk took over my face. So much for that sexy arrogance.

"Because I don't mind. It's a great ass."

And it was. I never skipped the leg day and I did my squats religiously. It was the fucking perfect bubble butt.

"Uh..."

Oh my god. His reactions were just too cute! How was it possible for anyone to be that adorable and that sexy at the same time? Shouldn't it be just one or the other? Fuck, it made me want to tease him a little bit more. Call me a bitch, or whatever. He was just way too irresistable like this.

"What, you don't agree? Do you think I have an ugly ass?"

"I- uh... What?"

I pushed myself up, brushing off any dirt I might've gotten on my clothes. Jasper was refusing to look at me. I started to giggle. It was just too damn funny.

"I'm just messing with you. But you know, I really don't mind if you check my ass out. God knows I've been checking yours at every chance I get."

Uh... Did I actually just say that out loud? Me and my fucking mouth. And it was going so well! I was actually winning for a chance and then I just had to blurt shit out. Like, was it too much to ask to have a fucking filter between my horny thoughts and the words that actually come out of my mouth?

"It's your fault that I keep saying stuff like this!" I said defensively. I glared at him suspiciously. That smug smirk was tugging at the corners of his lips.

"I wasn't going to say anything."

Yeah right. And I was the fucking president of Ariel Reagan's fan club. I rolled my eyes and grabbed his hand, tugging him along to what I thought was the route back to the cabin.

"Let's just head back. I would say I'll race you but you would just cheat with your superpowers."

"I would never!" Jasper said with a mock gasp. Now he was just making fun of me again. He would so get his once I had him as my homework slave. He would crawl back to his house crying after I was done with him. Jasper Whitlock would learn the true meaning of 'high maintenance'.

We started to jog back. Jasper was a gentleman and carried my jacket for me. I was starting to understand why Angela always looked so damn pleased when I carried her stuff for her. There was just something heartwarming about someone showing a little courtesy to you.

"So, what did you catch, oh Master Hunter?" I asked as we ran. We were keeping our pace relatively relaxed so talking was possible for me. It was the best way to burn some fat, not that I had that much to burn. I was just mostly a little bloated from the change in my diet.

"I was hoping to find a mountain lion, but unfortunately I had to settle for a moose."

Aww, he sounded so upset. I gave him an awkward pat on his bicep. Shit was difficult when you were on the move.

"I'm so sorry for you. Is there like a difference in taste or something?"

I was interested in knowing. Like, did different types of blood taste different the same way something like cookies and steak tasted different? I assumed that there was a difference between human blood and animal blood since apparently vampires couldn't resist one and the Cullens were

'surviving' on animal blood. Or maybe it was like a nutritional difference? Who knew...

Well, Jasper obviously knew and that's why I asked him. I just hoped I would remember all of this information once I was back home and updating my Cullen Files. This weekend was a fucking educational experience.

And emotionally confusing, but that was a whole different thing. One that I did not want to think about.

"Yes. There is a difference between carnivores, omnivores and hebrivores. Human blood is of course the tastiest to us, but even then different people taste different. There are humans whose blood is sweet like honey to us. We call them Singers. Then there's a difference between adults and children. If the human has drugs or alcohol in their system, they taste different. The best tasting humans, after the Singers, are young adults who eat meat and exercise regularly."

"So, I'm not as tasty because I'm vegan?"

This shit was fucking interesting! Jasper gave me a heated look that made me actually fucking miss a step. I stumbled and nearly fell on my beautiful face, but luckily my personal superhero was there to catch me. Guess I did get that cliche 'the hero catches the girl' moment after all.

"Don't fucking do that!" I huffed. Did he have to give me those fucking bedroom eyes when I was trying to run? It was so fucking dangerous!

"Don't do what, exactly?" The cocky Jasper was back and my ovaries were in danger of spontaniously combusting. My face was no doubt red as fuck again and unfortunately it had nothing to do with the running.

"You know exactly what I mean! You're using your sex powers again. It's like so unfair!"

He laughed. Loudly. And there went my heart again. I swear I was going to see a fucking doctor as soon as I could. It couldn't be normal for a heart to get this worked up over a guy!

And I really didn't want it to. I was so not going to fall in love with Jasper. I just had to keep reminding myself of that. I just needed to show some self-restrain. I could do that. I just had to change the way I looked at him.

"It's hardly unfair, lil' darling. You happen to affect me quite strongly too. It's not the scent of your blood, as divine as that is, that makes you irresistable to me."

Hit the fucking brakes! What did he just say? I looked up at him, completely fucking under his spell. Did he just say that he was into me? Was I understanding something wrong?

"Umm... what?"

I was such a fucking well spoken intellectual. I bit my lip and just stared at him, trying to figure out what he was saying to me. Our eyes met and I swear his beautiful golden eyes were fucking glowing.

Shit. Shit shit shit shit shiiiiiit.

"It's the scent of your skin. Of your hair. Your perfume... your pheromones. All of it drives me crazy, because I selfishly want to know what you taste like... and I'm not allowed to know."

Danger! Danger! Ring the fucking warning bells! I licked my lips and I saw how his eyes followed the movement. I was fucking shivering and my body was very aware of what it wanted. Needed.

"I wouldn't mind..."

Oh will you just fucking shut up?! My heart was beating like crazy and seriously, what was it that I was supposed to remind myself of? I couldn't think a single reason why we shouldn't just fuck right there on the forest floor.

Jasper stepped into my personal space. He put his hands on my hips and I swear his fingers were burning me. Warm vampires were so damn dangerous... It was hard enough to resist them when they were walking statues, but these warm and... _fleshy_ ones were going to be the death of me. And my ovaries.

"Ah, but if I were to indulge, I'm afraid I couldn't stop. I would want more and more. And we cannot go there, my little Ella..."

Work brains, I beg of you. I leaned into him, taking a deep breath of his fucking intoxicating smell and tried to fight through the lusty fog that invaded my head. My legs lost their strenght and I was feeling all sorts of wobbly in my knees. I don't know how much of work they were doing and how much of my upright position was thanks to Jasper's grip on me, and I honestly didn't even care.

He bent down and dropped his head on my neck. I could feel his nose tickle my skin. All fucking sense left me. He was too close and not close enough at the same time. My hands gripped the front of his hoodie and tugged his body closer.

Jasper took a few steps, making me walk backwards until my back touched a tree. So this was happening. I swear someone was going to die if this didn't end with wild forest sex.

He inhaled deeply and fucking hell it shook me to my core. God, could he just kiss me senseless already?

"Why are you so tempting, Ella Johnson?" He growled softly. Fuuuuck. I would have to tie my jacket around my waist because my leggings were fucking soaked.

Vampire. Married. Married. MARRIED, ELLA!

I groaned out loud. Why the fuck couldn't my fucking brain wait a few more minutes before reminding me that this couldn't happen. Fuck it all to hell.

"This is really bad, isn't it?" I asked weakly. Like, this couldn't be happening to us. It just had to be the situation we were in. Just like Jasper had said. We were getting caught in the moment... nothing more.

He straightened himself and released his hold of me. He put some much-needed and much-loathed distance between us. My knees felt weak as fuck. I wanted to be relieved, I really did. But I was only so fucking disappointed and like literally aching for his nearness. Why the fuck did I have to get a fucking conscience at the worst moments?!

"Yes... This is really bad. It cannot happen, Ella. You deserve more."

Yup. I deserved so much more than a guy who was taken. And like over a century older than me. Honestly, why couldn't I have a simple, normal life? God this sucked...

We started walking again, both of us quiet. I tried to push everything that I was feeling to the back of my mind. I just had to survive two more days and then I could deal with all of my shit. Just two more days...

000

"Can we not talk about it right now? Like, can we pretend that it didn't happen until tonight?" I asked as I stepped out of the bathroom, all dressed up for the day.

Things had been quiet and kind of awkward ever since the forest incident. I was so not in the right headspace to have this talk with Jasper. I couldn't go out there and face my relatives after something like that. What if our talk ended badly and he'd ditch me before the wedding was over and done?

I couldn't risk it. And I really didn't want to have an emotionally wrecking discussion about the doomed crush I didn't have so early in the morning.

Jasper looked up from the book he was reading. His eyes softened and he nodded his head just slighlty.

"Of course. It can wait."

More annoying heart-tugs. This had to end before it got way out of hand.

"What are you reading?" See, now that was a perfectly innocent conversation starter. I could do mundane small-talk between friends.

"The Art of War."

Of course he was reading something called The Art of War. His name was Major Jasper Whitlock and war was his art... you could actually make a good thriller with something like that.

"What's it about?"

My money was on a cheesy romance novel. Jasper seemed like a guy who would have a guilty pleasure like that.

"It's an ancient Chinese military treatise written by the legendary military strategist Sun Tzu." He said, smirking slightly. It was like he knew how dim-witted I was.

Well, he was right. I had no idea what he just said. Something Chinese? I just blinked stupidly and he laughed. I should probably feel pretty insulted, but who could be mad when Jasper laughed?

"So it's basically just some light reading. Got it." Because he was so smart and shit. What an arrogant, beautiful bastard. Let me pull out my storage of Cosmopolitans and then we'd see who is the one with more knowledge...

I picked up the un-godly schedule that my shitty cousin had given us all. I was hoping for a bit of free time since there was the whole wedding rehearsal going on and yours truly was not invited. We had archery scheduled. Fucking archery. Who the fuck wants to practise archery at a wedding? I mean, if I was allowed to hunt down the bride and shoot her then I'd be out on the range practising already, but shooting arrows for funsies? So not my thing.

Jasper put his book down and plucked the schedule out of my hands. He blessed me with a boy-ish, 'we're about to do something naughty' smile and I was fucking melting. Again.

And I had just fucking showered...

"We won't be needing this at all. Brody and I have handled our entertainment for the day."

"Now why does that sound scarier than hanging around the devil's spawn..?"

Should I trust anything Brody came up with? He was _Brody_ after all and while Jasper was a smart and capable guy, Brody was so good at corrupting good people to the dark side. Just look at what he had done to poor, poor Faye. She used to have such potential...

"Trust me. It'll be fun."

Riiiight. Fun. I could use some fun. It was just slightly concerning that my brother and my fake boyfriend got along so well... A week ago I would've said that Jasper was a lone wolf even when he was surrounded by his vampy brothers, but now it seemed that he was making friends left and right. First the whole unholy understanding he had with Justin and now he was buddying it up with my brother? What next, should I expect Harry, Elena and fucking Ariel for afternoon tea?

"I don't know if that word means what you think it means..." I muttered. This could only mean trouble for me and my self preservation was screaming for me to get the hell away from the situation.

Jasper shook his head and took my hand. I had like a second to just bask in the amazing feeling before we were walking towards the main building. Breakfast time.

Of course, the first fucking face I see was aunt Gloria's. My appetite was officially gone. It had left the building. But the good thing was that I instantly felt better about the upcoming day at the sight of the badly covered black eye she was sporting.

"Ella... and Jasper, darling. Good morning." She sniffed. Oh, the bitch was frosty! I hugged my torso under my dark green poncho for warmth to shield against aunt Gloria's freezing attitude.

I was willing to bet good money that my mom had given that shiner to her. And I hoped to god someone had it on camera. I craned my neck to see if I would be able to catch a glimpse of my mom, but she was nowhere to be seen.

"Aunt Gloria! You look... so energetic."

"Truly radiant." Jasper offered. Such a gentleman.

Aunt Gloria gave us a sour grimace and hurriedly continued to the breakfast buffet. Wow. This day just kept getting better and better. I went to get myself a smoothie while Jasper reserved us a table.

Faye appeared just as I was starting to haul my breakfast and Jasper's black coffee to our table. She looked like she hadn't slept the entire day and can I just say 'ew'? I knew exactly why she looked like that. So disgusting.

And unfair.

"We got you seats. Is his royal stupidness joining us soon?" I said as a greeting. Faye grinned tiredly and nodded her head. Fuck, she looked so damn satisfied. I felt so dirty. And not hungry at all anymore.

"He was still in the shower when I left. I couldn't handle another minute without coffee."

"Get me one as well. My hands are full and my butler is busy claiming our table."

I wasn't going to have coffee because I didn't have enough arms to carry everything, but I was happy to drink some if Faye did the carrying. Why would I do anything myself if there was a way to get someone else to do it for me? I'd be a great boss one day...

"Is that all you're having?" Jasper asked as I put down the stuff I had chosen. So basically just a smoothie and a small bowl of berries for me and his black coffee.

"I'm not hungry."

He eyed me suspiciously. Yeah, he could read my emotions all he wanted, but I wasn't lying. I wasn't hungry. The reasons behind that might not have been the best, but omitting slight details was not lying! He didn't need to know that I had taken one good look at my puffy face and decided that bacon and white bread was so not for me.

"All that hassle about me eating well and you're going to settle for a smoothie. It feels a little hypocritical." He said, that damn smirk tugging at his lips.

Psh, like he had any room to talk. Which one of us ate only like once a week or whatever? I still ate three meals in a day, even if one of them happened to be a smoothie. I'd probably, hopefully, be starving by lunch and then I'd eat more dry-ass chicken or something else like that.

"Are you two having a lovers quarrel? That's adorable." Faye butted in and handed me my cup of coffee. I took a careful sip of the piping hot liquid and grimaced.

"Fuck! It's definitely not Starbucks. This tastes like shit."

It was the most horrible watered down sewage I had ever tasted. And I had drank Brody's coffee! Faye sniffed her cup and darted her tongue out to taste hers. She sputtered in disgust and pushed her cup as far away as she could. So it wasn't just me.

How on earth was Jasper drinking it so casually? That was the real mystery here. This shit was completely undrinkable. Did everything taste like this to him? Was he that good at faking stuff?

"You can't blame the coffee if you forgot to brush your teeth, lil sis."

Great. My brother had joined the party. I was once again reminded that I had to spend an entire day with him. What could possibly be better? Sticking needles in my eyes, maybe? I rolled my eyes and offered my cup to him.

"Try it. I fucking dare you. Let's see if you've brushed your teeth, brother dearest."

Ha! Brody's reaction was so overly dramatic. He took a big gulp of my coffee and sprayed it out of his mouth like in a movie. He spat and stuck his fingers into his mouth like he was trying to wipe the taste off of his tongue.

I cackled. Loudly. If people hadn't been paying attention because of Brody's noisy reaction, they were now thanks to me.

"Oh my god! Why did you taste it?" Faye asked with round eyes. Well, I knew someone who wouldn't be getting any smoochies for a while. You know, besides me.

"It's not that bad. There's no need for this ruckus." Jasper said. He was so clearly mocking us. He took a nice, long sip of his coffee and smacked his lips obnoxiously. He let out a satisfied sigh to top it all off. Who was the dramatic one here again?

My eyes wandered across the dining room like they so often did when I knew I was being watched. Aunt Gloria was glaring at our table and her wrathful gaze seemed to be targeted towards Brody. Well, now it was official. She had gotten her ass handed to her by my mom and she was blaming Brody for having Faye as his fiance. Like he was the problem and not her racist and stupid words.

Granny May was looking at me disapprovingly. What the fuck did I do now? This was all Brody who was making a scene. I had been very discreet with my reaction. And it so wasn't my fault that I had an idiot brother who was willing to taste icky stuff just because someone dared them to!

I felt bile burning my throat when my eyes landed on the Bitch Supreme herself. The Wicked Witch was looking mighty sour this fine morning. She was standing in the buffet line with Justin, glaring daggers at me.

Well, who was I to dismiss the bride-to-be? I looked at her in clear distaste and let out a dramatic sniff before pointedly turning my back to her. I could hear her outraged hiss all the way to our table. Granted, I was sitting relatively close to the buffet table so it was no wonder.

"Let it be..."

"But _Justin_!"

"Let it be, Ariel."

Who would've thought that Justin could ever sound intimidating in the slightest? He was uptight for sure, but he had never seemed like the type that would take charge like that. I grinned. I was feeling so much better already. There was nothing like knowing I ruined Ariel's day to make me feel amazing.

"So, what are you two rebels planning for today?" I asked, bringing the conversation back to something nobody would be interested in. There was such a thing as too much attention. Especially if said attention came from these snakes.

"Haven't I told you already, lil' darling? It's a secret." Jasper said charmingly. Like, my stomach fluttered from the way he lowered his voice on the word 'secret'. Goddamn that voice of his was seductive.

"I would also like to know, Brody." Faye said and raised her eyebrow expectantly. I snickered. There was no way Brody could keep anything secret if Faye wanted to know. He was powerless before her dark eyes.

Brody swallowed audibly and started to fidget. He looked around us to see if anyone was eaves dropping. What a fucking drama queen. I rolled my eyes. Like anyone here would actually care what we'd get up to. Everyone was doing their own shit. We only gathered in one place when it was time to eat or when her royal bitchiness demanded it specifically.

I leaned into Jasper's chest and closed my eyes for a second. I was tired and there was no way I'd be drinking that shit someone dared to call coffee. I wrapped Jasper's free hand around me and used it as a blanket. Fuck he felt so comfy when he was all warm...

"We found a game room in the basement. There's a pool table and a mini basketball hoop. And a huge collection of cd's and a shit-ton of crap we can play with." Brody whispered. He thought he was being quiet, but he was failing miserably. How could anyone whisper so loudly?

Jasper started to rock me gently. I was so sleepy... His smell and his warmth were making my brain all fuzzy and I was so ready to go back to bed. Preferrably with Jasper and without any pesky clothes between us.

Great. Now I was horny again. Horny and tired and so fucking comfy. I was having some serious trouble to decide what I was feeling. Jasper was not helping things by purring quietly. Like, there was barely any sound but I could feel the vibrations in his chest.

"That's your big master plan? A game room?" Faye's voice made me snap back awake.

How long had I been out? It couldn't have been more than a couple of seconds if we were still talking about the game room.

"Sleepy?" Jasper murmured into my ear. This fucking guy. I yawned and straightened myself. His arms were a dangerous place to be. I stretched my back and blinked a couple of times. This was not the time or the place to be sleeping.

"I'm fine. I just need some decent coffee in me. I can't believe the she-devil is serving this shit to her quests."

"Uh... Ella..."

Fuck. Faye was looking pointedly to the space behind my right shoulder. It could only mean one thing. We had a bug. What a perfect fucking way to describe my nemesis.

Okay, the important thing was to not get flustered. She was a she-devil and the coffee did taste like absolute shit. I had done nothing wrong. I took a controlled breath and tasted my neglected smoothie.

It was just as horrible. Who the fuck puts _sugar_ in a green smoothie? Gross! I gagged and pushed the monstrosity away from me. It looked like I would be skipping the breakfast altogether. Yay.

"Honestly, I would be too embarrassed to serve something this awful to my beloved relatives. I have to admire her guts." I continued, raising my voice just the tiniest bit so Ariel knew that I knew she was lurking behind me. That bitch.

God I hated her so much.

I could hear the grinding of her teeth. It was so fucking gross. Jasper was glaring at her and his body tensed up. Well that couldn't be good. But seriously, what could that abomination actually do?

"Here, why don't you try mine. Oops!"

I shrieked when I was suddenly yanked into Jasper's lap. Like, my teeth smacked together painfully and I was pretty sure I got whiplash. Then there was a scalding sensation on my forearm.

The fucking bitch had dumped her fucking boiling coffee on me! I turned to look at her, fucking furious and outraged. How _dared_ she?! I was going to fucking kill her.

Oh fuck! My arm hurt. I wasn't sure if it was the pain or the uncontrollable anger, but my eyes watered up and I started crying. Or like sniffling miserably and clutching my burned arm to my chest.

Ariel's hand was shaking and she was looking at me, terrified of what she had done. Well fucking served her right! She was going to suffer for this. If Jasper hadn't reacted fast enough and pulled me...

Shit!

I twisted my awkwardly bent body so I could look at Jasper's face. All thoughts of murdering Ariel were pushed to the back of my mind. I had something more serious going on that demanded all of my attention.

Jasper Whitlock's golden eyes were pitch black and his face was twisted into something horrible and animalistic. He was growling lowly and this was not the 'let's have sex' growl that I was particularly fond of. Oh no. This was the 'I'll fucking kill you and wear your ribcage as a helmet' growling.

Of course, both of the growls had similar affects on me. But I was fucked up in the head so whatever I was feeling couldn't be considered normal. Normal people would be terrified. And Ariel certainly was.

Fuck it all to hell. Here we go again.

* * *

Author's Final Notes:

FUCKING FINALLY! Phew... Do you guys have any idea what it's like to write one single chapter for _weeks_ because you are so incredibly busy and have no time for anything? Let's just say it's no fun. These past few weeks have been so draining. It's the busiest time at my workplace and my body is feeling it...

I'm so sorry that it took me this long to update, but hopefully this extra-long chapter will earn me your forgiveness! I'm going to try my damn hardest that this doesn't happen again. My new goal is to post a new chapter every 7-10 days. Let's all hope that I can stick to it as we wait for this work-madness to calm down!

So, have I grovelled enough? If you are a person who decided to return to this story even after this long break, thank you so much! I hope this will be a satisfying continuation to Ella's story. I'm extremely hopeful that the next chapter will be ready for your enjoyment after this weekend. Fingers crossed!

Okay, I think that's enough rambling for now. I hope to see you all soon and hey; Let's make TSLoEJ Great Again! :D

ps, thank you all for following and favoriting and commenting. Have a great weekend you guys!


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14: Two siblings, a love interest and the Gay Best Friend walk into a game room...**

* * *

I corrected my position within Jasper's lap so I was straddling him. I reached up and placed my hands on his ears and then I yanked his head down. The fact that his head actually moved told me that my distraction had worked. Or at the very least that he wasn't totally out of control. Shit could've turned ugly for me otherwise.

I pulled his face close to mine and I tried my fucking hardest to ignore the fact that I was crying. I couldn't stop it, but I sure as hell wasn't going to let that stop me from being a fucking badass.

"Not now, Jasper. I'm f-fine"

Once more with less weeping, please. It was fucking annoying that my voice had to break at the most crucial of times. Jasper spared me a quick glance before he turned his full attention back to Ariel. I swear he was trying to discover some new vampire mind powers so he could kill Ariel with his eyes alone.

From the way the annoying bitch was shaking, it had to be working in some way. It was hard to tell if she was shocked by what she had done or if she just remembered what happened the last time someone tried to injure me in front of Jasper.

"Nuh-uh. Eyes down here, baby." I said and gave Jasper's ears another firm tug. I was well aware that everyone was staring at us and this was so not the time to unleash the beast. No matter how fucking satisfying it would be.

He focused on me a little longer now. I didn't want to think about what I looked like. Attractive as fuck, no doubt, with tears and snot running down my face. My stomach fluttered when his face softened and he reached up to wipe the wetness from my cheeks.

"How bad is it...?" He asked softly. I didn't appreciate the way my heart reacted to the look on his face. All concerned and devastated and so ready to kill someone. It was so very wrong of me to think he looked damn fine.

I peeled back the sleeve of my undershirt. I hoped that the coffee stain would come out as it was one of my only plain shirts. Never to be worn on its own, but it was a great shirt when I needed layers to keep warm.

The coffee had hit me like an inch below my elbow. There was a red spot that did not look promising. I gave it an experimental poke and tried my best to contain my screech of pain.

"It's not... not too bad."

Tears, anytime you'd want to stop would be fine with me... Why did I have to be such a crybaby? I needed to nut up and put on a show, but I didn't handle pain well. Which was kind of ironic considering how hard I pushed myself at the gym.

"I didn't... It was an accident!" The dog-faced nightmare shrieked. What a fucking asshole.

"You shut your fat mouth or I'll fucking jam my foot in there." I hissed at her. Couldn't that moron understand that it was time for her to fucking disappear before Jasper decided not to humor me anymore?

He gave another low growl to just prove my point. Ariel let out a miserable gurgle and hurried away. Jasper started to stand up, with me still firmly lodged in his lap. I tugged at his ears again and pushed his nose into my neck. He inhaled deeply and his arms came to squeeze me close to him.

Holy fucking shit. I should get myself into trouble more often if this was the reaction he had. Too bad that I had zero desire to risk a serious injury. I was a fucking wimp when it came to pain.

My arm was hurting like fuck. I sniffed again. There were even more tears dripping down my face and I desperately wanted to wipe them away, but I needed my hands to keep Jasper from killing Ariel.

"I'm going to kill her." Jasper whispered into my neck. It was so fucking not the right time to get so turned on, but what could I do? He was all growly and deadly and protective. I challenge anyone to resist him like this.

"Sorry baby, but you can't. I called dibs on that years ago." I whispered back to him.

It was like there was a collective sigh of relief coming from my relatives. It had been deathly quiet and now people started to get back to their business. Fucking vultures. They were just itching to find out what would happen if Jasper was let loose.

I'd like to see their reaction when he'd start tearing heads off...

"I'm sorry, Ella. I should've been faster. More cautious. It's my fault that you got hurt..." Jasper continued to mutter against my skin.

My eyes might've rolled to the back of my head. My hormones weren't considering the time or the place to make themselves known. This was just amazing. I released my hold on Jasper's ears, hoping that we were past the critical stage and slid them up to caress Jasper's hair.

I also wiped the other side of my face into my poncho. It was gross, but you know... priorities. My hands were needed elsewhere and honestly, touching Jasper's hair was so worth the bodily fluids all over my face and clothes. Thank god I never wore anything other than waterproof mascara.

"Hey, this was not your fault. It was that fucking bitch and she'll get hers eventually. I'm fine, really. You saved my face so it's all good."

Whoa whoa whoa... his nose was doing some very dangerous snuggling against my skin there! I bit my lip to stop a really embarrassing sound from coming out. I was still somewhat aware that the breakfast buffet probably wasn't the best place to get your freak on.

But if Jasper was game, so was I...

I was somewhere between not-crying and feeling normal. It felt like any little thing would set me off again, so I was extremely fucking grateful that Jasper was holding me. It gave me a chance to collect myself and honestly, his scent was so fucking calming and attractive to me.

"I could feel her rage. I should've seen it coming... I just never thought that she'd... I'll kill her for this. I swear she'll pay."

It was a good thing that Jasper was barely making any noise. There was no chance that we were overheard by my bat-like relatives. He was straight up mumbling those words into my ear and they turned me on so fucking much. What tears? My body was all over that incident. It was way more interested in the sexy beast that was whispering them sweet nothings in my ear. It seemed that the way to my pants was promising to kill my nemesis. Who knew...

"Not your fault. Say you understand that. And you can't go around killing my nemesis. I'll be the prime suspect. Besides, I'm fine. It doesn't even hurt anymore..."

I lied. It did fucking hurt. My skin felt tight and uncomfortable and hot. But honestly, it wasn't that big of a deal. I was mostly unharmed thanks to Jasper's quick reflexes. That was the only reason why I was even bothering to restrain my sexy vampire killing machine. If that coffee had hit my face, then all bets would've been off. Hell, I would've joined in on the killing.

And I was still going to kill her one day. Just, you know, when she would least expect it and I knew I would get away with it.

"Do you think they're even aware that we are all still here?" Brody asked, ruining the moment. What a fucking surprise. Ah well, I suppose it was alright. I didn't want to deal with a broody vampire all day long, so Brody's brand of annoying was just the distraction that we needed.

"Hush. Don't bother them! Look how cute they look, all huddled together like that." Faye said with what I imagined was the biggest shit-eating grin that had ever existed.

"Okay, that's disgusting. That's my fugly sister you're talking about. There's nothing cute about her."

I looked around the best that I could. Jasper was not letting me go, no complaints, so it was difficult to see if that psycho had managed to rub her two grey braincells together and slither away while she had the chance. She was nowhere to be seen. Thank fucking god. I could relax. And that meant I could start firing back at my idiotic brother.

"Fuck you, Brody. We all know who the ugly sibling is. Honestly Faye, just dump his ass already. You could do so much better."

Jasper lifted his head up, but kept his arms locked around me. Fucking fortunately. Was it wrong that I never wanted him to let go? I pressed my cheek on his shoulder and decided that I didn't care.

"I don't think it's even possible for Ella not to be cute. She's breathtakingly beautiful."

Fuck! The Southern gentleman was back with a bang! I blushed, like I always seemed to do whenever Jasper said something smooth like that. Faye giggled happily, bless her heart and Brody pretended to throw up. He was so fucking mature.

"No, but seriously, are you okay?" Brody then asked. There was a suspicious flash of something in his eyes and I knew I'd have my fucking hands full dealing with two overprotective macho guys who wanted to kill the woman of the hour. This was going to be a fucking splendid day. Thank you so fucking much, Ariel...

Honestly, I was a fucking saint. I'd like to see that selfish bitch do something like this for me. Then again, if and when I decided to assault Ariel, the bitch wouldn't walk away from it.

But before that day came...

"Ow. No I'm not. It huuuuurts!" I whined. The crisis was averted for now, so I could really embrace my true dramatic crybaby self.

Faye took my arm and gave it a once-over. I caught her eyeroll and stuck out my tongue as a response. I would've given her the middle finger, but people were still staring at us. Image was everything and I was trying very hard to put mine back up. And my fingers were very busy exploring Jasper's golden mane. It was an important job.

Jasper was being very helpful with the way he was squishing me against his body. It did wonders for my psyche and he was doing a very good job of convincing my brain that I should just focus on his infinite hotness again and let the incident pass. For now.

"Don't be such a drama queen. It's just a little red. It won't even blister."

What a party-pooper. She just couldn't let me have my moment. I was dealing with the utter fucking shock of my cousin once again trying to disfigure or murder me. I think I was allowed to be a little dramatic.

Not to mention that I had prevented yet another guaranteed bloodpath just now. Yeah, you're very welcome Faye! Shit... I seriously got no respect.

"You don't know that. It feels like it'll blister. I'm sure it'll get all gross soon enough!"

There was a slight chance that I was more upset the possible ugly mark on my skin than the fact that I had gotten burned in the first place. I mean, Ariel was going to get her just desserts for her latest attempted murder, but I had clear priorities. Namely my looks.

"What part of her is cute again? Dude, I'm seriously questioning your taste in girls." Brody remarked.

"Excuse you! I'm a healthy 15 year old girl with double D's, an ass that won't quit and a fucking face of an angel!"

"I think I just threw up in my mouth..."

My brother was an asshole. No redeeming qualities whatsoever.

000

What the hell was I going to wear? Ugh! Ariel had totally ruined my entire plan for the day. What was I going to use now? It was a cold day, so I couldn't just put on any cute outfit and call it a day. The poncho had been so cozy and pretty... but I couldn't wear it without my long sleeved shirt under it and I was not going to walk around with a fucking coffee stain on my clothes.

My jeans were still fine to use, but what was I going to pair them up with? I couldn't use my turtleneck because it had been my workout shirt. I couldn't wear the top I had worn when I got to this hellhole. It would look bad if I wore dirty clothes.

I did have a cute pink halter top I could totally rock, but I had nothing to put over it. For someone who lived in a cold-as-fuck town known for the chilling rain, I had way too few warm clothes.

Honestly, I didn't even know why I had brought the top with me. I just had a problem with overpacking and of course that only extended to useless stuff that looked cute as fuck, but were unwearable. Good job, Ella.

"It's been over 20 minutes already... Are you planning on being topless for much longer?" Jasper asked. He sounded kind of uncomfortable.

Okay, it was so not my fault that I needed a change of clothes! I had my outfits planned beforehand and now I needed to scrap all of that hard work and pull an amazing outfit out of my ass.

It just wasn't convenient for me to run to the bathroom every 20 seconds with a new shirt. So I had done the only logical thing and started changing my shirts in our living space. He could deal with it a little while longer.

Jasper was being a real gentleman. I hadn't seen him take his eyes off of the ceiling for the entire time I had been less than decently dressed. Of course, he could've been staring at me whenever my attention was elsewhere, but he at least pretended not to stare. Not that I would mind.

He was probably only still in the same space as me because he wasn't willing to leave me alone at the moment. He was still full on protective mode even if his 'grrrr' tendencies were safely tucked away for now. But I had a feeling I wouldn't be spending any time alone for a while.

I mean, who was to say that my crazy nemesis wasn't hiding in the bushes, just waiting for the perfect opportunity to finish the job?

"Oh, I'm sorry. I just need to figure out my outfits for the rest of this fucking trip on the spot. It's not like _that's_ challenging or anything."

It was official. I had nothing to wear.

"What's wrong with the pink one?" He asked. He might've tried to be helpful, but he wasn't offering me any real solutions to my problem. Well, at least his question confirmed that he didn't just spend the last 20 minutes staring at the ceiling.

It was fine. Jasper Whitlock could ogle my goodies all day every day if he so chose. And if I was super lucky, maybe he'd let me ogle his goodies one day... a girl can always dream, right?

"Nothing. Absolutely nothing. It's so cute and it goes with these jeans perfectly."

That's why this all was so fucking maddening. I knew it would look so cute on me, but I couldn't handle the gloomy Washington spring without some layers on me. Especially when the day was as fucking cold as this one was. Honestly, why the fuck was it still so close to freezing in May?

"So why aren't you..."

"Wearing it? Jasper, you do realize that I'm just a regular human being. I will die of coldness if I don't dress properly. I didn't bring a hoodie with me. I just have my two sweaters and I've already worn both of them."

Jasper got up from the bed and came to my side. He rolled his eyes at me and then reached for his side of the wardrobe. He pulled out a navy blue hoodie and handed it to me.

"You can wear this. Problem solved."

Okay, who gave my heart a permission to get all out of whack again? It certainly wasn't me! Did his chivalry know no limits? Fucking hell. He really should tone it down for the sanity of the world's

female population.

"...okay."

What else was I going to say? Of course I was going to wear his fucking hoodie! I didn't even care if it clashed with my other clothes or not. My fake boyfriend was doing the boyfriend move of giving up his clothes for the benefit of his girlfriend. I wasn't going to let the opportunity of wrapping his scent all around me slip past my fingers!

I finished dressing up and holy shit Jasper's hoodie was comfy! It was waaaaay too big for me, so it kind of swallowed me, but fuck if I cared. It was cute. Jasper's eyes crinkled as he smiled widely down at me. I grinned back at him. It was impossible not to. His smile was a fucking gift from the gods.

"You're drowning in it."

Well no shit. Maybe he hadn't noticed, but I was significantly smaller than him. First off, he was so tall... with beautiful shoulders that were much wider than mine... Goddamn he was so sexy.

What were we talking about again..? Right!

"Just admit it, I look adorable."

"Yes you do..."

I watched as his smile faded away and he started to look all serious again. His eyes got darker and I was starting to wonder if they did that all the time, or if my family was driving his emotions crazy. I wouldn't blame him. They drove everyone crazy.

Also, he just totally called me adorable. I was full-on swooning.

Jasper placed his hand on my shoulder and then trailed it down so he was holding my injured arm. I couldn't figure out if he was sad, angry or little bit of both. Probably the last one.

"Why did you stop me? She's not going to give up, Ella. She hates you."

Tell me something I don't know, oh great Major. It was like a totally new development in my relationship with Ariel. It wasn't like she had been trying to destroy me since we were kids.

"Um, let's see. Because everyone was watching. Because I've called dibs on her. Because if Ariel dies, I'll be the fucking prime suspect. And because..." I stopped myself. Why the fuck did I have to be so damn honest with him?

It was his damn eyes. Those beautiful fucking eyes that made me feel like I could share anything with him. Goddamn I wanted to hate his eyes.

"Because?" He asked. All concerned and earnest. And so damn cute.

"Because you think you're a monster and I don't want to be the reason that you'll end up hating yourself." I muttered, looking away from him.

Fuck it all. This was supposed to be a drama free day. We were supposed to save the big conversations for tonight. It was only 10 am for fuck's sake. I was so not ready for this shit.

His fingers gripped my chin gently and he turned my head back to him. I was back to staring at the liquid gold of his eyes. Or more like dark amber they currently were. At least they weren't all black again. Although I did have a certain... _appreciation_ for his dark eyes.

"I _think_ I'm a monster? Shouldn't this just prove that I _am_ one?"

Okay, who was it that had made Jasper hate himself so much? I was going to find them and fucking kick their asses for making him think like this.

"Jasper, you are not a fucking monster. And if I ever hear you call yourself that again, I'll find a way to make you really hurt. You were protecting _me_. Defending _me_. Call me crazy, but that doesn't sound like something a monster would do." Were we really having this conversation again?

He looked at me for a long time again. Reading my face and trying to see if I was lying to him. It felt like he couldn't comprehend that his actions could be read as anything more than horrible. Fuck that. Jasper Whitlock was a good person. He was kind, polite, considerate and always, _always_ trying to protect me and my sanity from my horrible family.

So what if he got a little blood thirsty from time to time? As long as he didn't go after me and the people I loved, we were good. I liked Jasper just the way he was. Murderous impulses and all.

He touched my face like he couldn't believe this was real. Yeah, you and me both buddy. All of this was so fucking unreal and damn if I wasn't happy that it was happening. Like, I could do without the psycho cousins trying to kill me, and the wedding in general, but all in all I was happy that this was actually happening.

"You are so beautiful, Ella. I don't know what I've done to deserve you in my life, but I am so, so grateful for it." He whispered. Oh boy.

Heart, any time you want to stop beating out of my chest... I let out a shaky breath.

I liked it when people called me beautiful. It made me breathe a little easier. All thanks to my mom, no doubt. But it was something that helped me cope with my fucked up life. If nothing else, at least I had my beauty.

But Jasper... I didn't think he meant that I was beautiful on the outside. I mean, I knew he thought I was beautiful. Unless he had been faking his reactions and lying to my face, but I trusted that he wouldn't do something so horrible.

I think he meant he thought I was beautiful on the inside too. That was a first. Nobody had told me that before. I could be way off, but I felt like he meant it like that.

And now I was crying again. Great.

I gave him a watery smile and wiped my once again wet face into the sleeve of his hoodie. Thank god for waterproof mascara. I would probably need to reapply my foundation and concealer, but hey, at least I didn't have raccoon eyes.

"But, can you please stop placing yourself in my way when I'm on the verge of losing control?"

I started laughing. His grin came back as well and I knew we were okay. At least for now. I didn't think he necessarily agreed with me, but he was willing to go with it. I just hoped that my moronic cousin had the brains to keep her distance for now, or her head would end on a pike. Like, literally.

I didn't think there would be anything I could do to stop Jasper if Ariel came at me again. It kind of made me feel all warm on the inside.

There was a slight chance that I was a psychopath or something. Because while I didn't want her to die, at least not yet, it was for completely selfish reasons and I knew I would enjoy her brutal demise so, so much.

"Hey, if it works... By the way, did I hurt your ears? I really went for it because I figured you'd be able to take it."

I just wanted to know... for science. And totally not because this could be something I could use against him in the future...

Now it was his turn to burst into laughter.

000

Okay, I had to admit it. The game room was fucking awesome. Like, sure it was kind of dim even with all the lamps turned on, and it was kind of gloomy with the bare white walls and stone floors.

But it was so awesome! I looked around me in glee. There was of course the pool table that Brody had mentioned. It was huge and the centerpiece of the space. There was a row of cue sticks attached to a rack on one wall. It also had a long wooden shelf that had all the balls in three neat rows. It was a cool way to storage them.

There were three ratty leather couches pushed against the walls and a handful of uncomfortable looking wooden chairs stacked on top of each other in one corner. The air smelled musty and I figured nobody had used the room for a while.

Faye went straight to another group of shelves that were bursting from magazines and what looked like board games. She rummaged through the different magazine titles before she pulled out one number of the corner stone of every woman's cultural identity, _Cosmopolitan_.

"So, what do you think?" Jasper whispered in my ear. I shuddered pleasantly and squeezed his hand. I didn't even have to turn and look at him to know he was sporting one of his sinfully hot arrogant smirks.

I tried to come up with an answer that would wipe his smirk away, but I was drawing a blank. Jasper's thumb rubbing against the palm of my hand might've been to blame. He was clearly bullying me, using my weakness to his sex powers against me. It was so mean.

"I think that for once, Brody actually came up with a smart idea. Good job, big brother! I'm so proud of you." I decided that the best way to go about it was to ignore his sexiness and focus on ripping into my brother.

What can I say, even Brody had his uses from time to time.

Jasper scoffed and pulled me against him, wrapping his wonderful hands around my waist. My hands came up to rest on top of his chest. Ready to either push him away or possibly to pull him closer. I didn't know which way I wanted the situation to go.

"Ah, but this was not Brody's idea. It was all me, lil' darling."

Oh my lord, the arrogance in his voice! What the fuck was he doing to my body? My stomach tightened and I had to squeeze my thighs tightly together again because certain parts of me were very eager for his attention.

And right in front of my brother, of course. I swear that Jasper had some fucking strange kink or something. It felt like he wanted to make me as horny as possible whenever I was around my family.

It really should've bothered me more than it did. Fuuuuck, I was so sick. Completely insane.

"Really? Well, then I guess I should be thanking you, shouldn't I?"

Yeah, that was way too flirty. Bad Ella. Let's just remind ourselves that Jasper Whitlock was off limits. I wasn't allowed to fall head over heels here. And I definitely shouldn't be this fucking flirty, because I wasn't supposed to go for guys who were taken.

Now if only my fucking brain and heart would get over this stupid thing and get with the program.

"Mmh... I think you should. I think I deserve that..."

Well, now he was just asking for it. I mean really, what was I supposed to do when he was being like this?

I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled his head down. He raised an eyebrow, curious as to what I was up to. He went along with it and his eyes were getting into the dark amber territory again.

I stood up to my tip toes and brought our faces closer. He inhaled deeply again and there was this anticipation all over his face. His arms tightened around me and he pulled me closer to his body. God it was delicious... it would be so easy to just give in.

But I couldn't. I would like to say it was because I was doing it because it was the right thing to do, but I was way too far gone. I wanted him so fucking badly that in moments like these I couldn't give a rat's ass about the fact that he had a badass vampire wife who could kill me. Nope. The reason why I was not going to kiss him senseless was because we were playing a game and I wanted to win it.

"Thank you, Major Whitlock. You're my hero." I whispered softly and quickly pressed my lips against his jaw before letting go of his neck and pushing him away.

His arms fell open and I stepped out of his personal space and grinned up at him. Oh, the look on his face! He hadn't expected that. Ha! Served him right for teasing me constantly. See, I could be a bully too!

"Okay, are you two done making googly eyes at each other? It's making me nauseous." Brody's annoying voice ended our moment. How fucking frustrating. I was pretty sure Jasper had been close to being pushed over the edge and now he was back in full control. So unfair!

"I don't know what you're talking about. You must be imagining things." I said with a huff. Jasper snorted and shook his head. He went to get himself a cue stick and positioned himself next to the pool table.

But seriously, how glorious would it be if he would just lift me on top of that thing and then just...

Bad, bad Ella! No more thought about having wild sexy times with Jasper Whitlock!

"Are you ready to face the champion?" Brody boasted and actually flexed his muscles to Jasper. I rolled my eyes. What a fucking idiot.

"Oh? I thought I was going to play against you. Where is this champion you're talking about?"

Guys... I wondered how long it would be before they'd put their dicks on the table and measure them. Some things were just universal, I guess.

I went to sit next to Faye and leaned against her so I could read the magazine with her. It was an old number, published in the 80's. I was digging the poofy perms and padded shoulders.

The boys started their game of eight ball, throwing insults at each other and laughing like idiots. It was weird to see them get along so well, but I guessed it was better than the awkwardness they had on our drive here.

I'd still rather they weren't being so fucking chummy. It just screamed trouble for me.

I lifted my knees up and half-way into Faye's lap. I kept my attention neatly divided between reading the magazine with her and staring at the boys. I just had to make sure Brody didn't do anything that would embarrass me. Like start telling stories from my awkward years. He was such an asshole that he'd reveal everything if given the chance.

"I think Brody has a neferious plan to make Jasper stick around even after this weekend." Faye said quietly, a knowing smile on her lips.

Fuck. That was the one thing my life was missing. My brother trying to set me up with a married vampire. Now I could die happy.

"He'd better not. I don't need Brody's 'help'." I grumbled. Faye giggled.

"Oh yes. I can see that you're doing pretty well all on your own."

Okay, was she mocking me or was she insinuating that something was going on between me and Jasper? I couldn't tell.

"What?"

Somebody once said that there were no such things as stupid questions. I disagreed with that. I was a fucking master at asking stupid questions and that was one of them. I so did not want to have this conversation, especially when the vampire with superhearing in question was right here in the same room. Yeah, this would go over well.

Faye gave me a long look, as if she was trying to figure out if I was playing dumb or if I was dumb. Of course it was the latter. She seemed to come to the same conclusion and I thought I should feel insulted by that. Then again, it was the truth, so...

"Seriously? You two are all over each other, all the damn time."

Like she was one to talk. Miss 'I can't seem to keep my hands away from my fiance, not even when his little sister is standing right next to us' was saying that I was all over Jasper. Yeah right.

"No we're not." I said quickly. And did I just imagine it, or were Jasper's ears twitching? That bastard. I mean, I knew he couldn't help it, but did he have to look so damn happy about it?

Of course, I could only see his back, but still. I was willing to bet good money on the fact that he was feeling mighty smug again.

Why did his confidence have to be so fucking appealing?

"Oh please. I haven't seen you two being apart for even 10 minutes ever since we got here."

What a liar. We had spent many, many hours apart thank you very much. And Faye had even been a fucking witness to it. Or did she forget yesterday already? Because me and my overactive hormones hadn't forgotten the panty-free night of fun.

"Um, we are just acting. We need to be belieavable in front of the family."

Faye gave me a real shit-eating grin and looked me up and down. Okay, I was so not comfortable with the way this conversation was going. And let's not forget that Jasper could hear _everything_. But how was I supposed to tell Faye that? I couldn't just tell her to shut up because there was a supernatural being in the room with us.

"But Ella, there was nobody around just now. It was just us and we know the truth. And now that I think about it, there were no nosy relatives around yesterday either when I came to your cabin. And you two were being very cute and clingy then too."

No no no no no no no! I was not having this conversation. I was not in love with Jasper! It was because we were pretending.

"We're friends."

Yeah, that's it. We were just friends. Friends who were insanely attracted to each other.

Married, Ella. Remember that he's a married man. Don't you fucking do it...

"Uh-huh. I get it. I always drape myself all over my friends too."

Now she was just being mean. And it made me panic. I wasn't willing to admit having any feelings for Jasper, so I said the first thing that came to my mind.

"He's like my gay best friend."

Jasper missed his shot. Like, he flinched and his cue stick nearly destroyed the pool table. Uhh... oopsie? But honestly, it wasn't my fault that he was eavesdropping. Faye snorted next to me. What a bitch.

She opened her mouth to say something, so I did the only logical thing I could think of. I jumped up and marched up to Jasper. I tugged at his sleeve to get his attention. A pointless thing since I was sure that I had his full attention at this point.

If I hadn't seen his reaction, I'd think he hadn't heard me at all. He looked completely unaffected by the time he turned to look at me.

"Yes, lil' darling?" He asked with that fucking smirk on his face. Goddamn, he made my hormones go crazy. This was such a bad idea... but I wanted an excuse to get away from Faye and her intuition.

And really, would I ever say no to a chance to be close to Jasper? I think not.

"Can you teach me? I've never played pool before. Looks like fun."

"NO! Go away! I'm about to make a come back!" Brody wailed dramatically. Jasper rolled his eyes.

"Just give up, man. I'm going to pocket the eight ball on my next turn. You still have three balls left."

Brody was being a bitch. Like, dude he's not that into you! Get with the program and let me hang out with my fake vampire boyfriend.

"I can't believe you're ditching me for my sister! What happened to the bro code?" Brody continued.

Bitch please. You two first spoke like two days ago. How was the infamous bro code applicable here? Then again, I hadn't been speaking with Jasper that much longer, but I was still a lot closer to him than Brody was. So naturally that meant I had dibs on his company.

Jasper wrapped an arm around my waist and made a shooing motion with his hand. Goddamn he was so hot.

"Your sister is much more fascinating to be around than you. And with a little practice I'm sure she'll be able to give me a decent challenge."

Ha! Jasper Whitlock was in for a big disappointment if he thought I was teachable. Mrs. Saunders would disagree strongly.

"Yeah, you're only saying that because you want to get into my sister's pants."

Eww, why was he still talking?! I was so not in the mood of discussing Jasper's potential attempts to get into my pants... especially when it was my brother who was doing the talking. So gross. Faye burst into giggles. She put down her magazine and looked straight at me with gleaming eyes.

"Oh honey, haven't you heard? Jasper is like Ella's gay best friend!"

Fucking bitch. Faye was officially on my shit-list. One day I'd find a weakness I could use and then she'd go down. Brody was still young. He could find a new main squeeze.

Jasper's eye twitched. It would've been funny if it wasn't so damn embarrassing.

"My man... I am so sorry."

Oh my fucking god. I wanted to scream. Why the fuck was this conversation still going on? I knew it was a bad idea for Brody and Jasper to interact. Yesterday was clearly a huge fucking mistake. I was going to regret this the rest of my life. I just knew it.

"Go away, you moron!" I glared at him. He was just so damn annoying. How were we related? One of us had to be adopted and I hoped to god that it was me.

"Whatever you want, sis. Come on, the queen of my heart! Let's leave these gay besties to their devices and have a game of mini basketball."

Gag. I swear that Faye's girly giggles were the most disgusting sound in the world. It was only a matter of time before they would start making the googly eyes at each other. And they had the fucking gall to say that me and Jasper were bad.

I sighed and looked up at Jasper. I wasn't sure what to expect. Merciless teasing, maybe? He hadn't expected being labeled the gay bestie, that was for sure. I was like really good at surprising him. But he was also super good at composing himself quickly so he was more than ready to respond by now.

He was smiling. It was just a regular polite smile. Fuck. It couldn't mean anything good. Jasper didn't do the polite smiles with me. There had to be a catch. I was going to suffer, I just knew it.

"Uh, so..." I tried to come up with something to say. Why were words so damn hard?

"The gay best friend?" He asked in a pleasant tone of voice. The itch behind my knees was back. This would not end well for me.

Say something, Ella. Just give him an explanation. Anything...

"It was the first thing that came to my mind! She was being so nosy!"

Okay, so it wasn't my best work, but it was the truth. Well, half truth. I had been thinking that I needed to change the way I view Jasper and then my stupid horny brain had figured that I'd be able to keep being close to Jasper if I thought of him as gay. Yeah, I was stupid like that.

"I feel like I need to up my game if that's the first thing that comes to your mind."

Holy shit. My jaw popped right open and I just stared at him. The polite smile was gone and it had been replaced by the sexiest of self-assured smiles anyone had ever seen. My knees wobbled and I had to use Jasper's body as a support or I would've ended crumbled on the floor.

Fucking hell his powers were strong. He closed his eyes for a second and breathed in deeply. What a fucking cocky bastard. He knew exactly what he was doing and he was just fucking basking in the power he had over my stupid hormones. Jasper was just a big pervert with even bigger ego.

"Please don't. I think I might actually explode if you up your game."

Great. Just tell him how you really feel, why don't you? Why did I keep saying these things... And Jasper was enjoying my misery way too much.

"Never change, Ella Johnson... Now, did you actually want to learn how to play?"

No, I didn't actually care about learning how to play pool. I got the gist of it. You hit the balls with the stick in a certain order and that was it. But, I was very interested in having Jasper teach me something.

Especially if that something meant he'd be sticking veeeery close to me.

"Yeah sure. It'll be good to know how you teach me. I mean, I'm still expecting those tutoring lessons once we get back home."

Jasper handed me one of the big sticks. I had seen movies where people play pool so I had the basic idea of it down. I crouched over the pool table and mimicked the way I remembered people held the cue stick in their hands.

"So it's something like this, right?" I said and gently pushed the stick forward. There were no balls for me to hit, but I was just trying to get the movement down.

It was my humble opinion that the table was way too tall. It was super discrimitory towards vertically challenged people like myself. I had to kick one of my legs up and stand on my toes just to have some sort of control over my movements.

"Not quite like that. If you adjust your fingers like..." He said softly and fixed the position my fingers were in. I was enjoying the shit out of his very physical instructions. Honestly, there was no such thing as too much Jasper's touch.

He stepped behind me and leaned over me, one of his hands coming to cover my hand that was resting against the pool table and his other hand found its way to my hips. He pressed his legs against mine and adjusted my stance. He was also stopping me from kicking my legs up, which was bothersome, but I would much rather suffer from my lack of reach than have him step away from me.

He was so fucking warm. It was decided; Jasper Whitlock should eat every single day to keep himself all warm and squishy. Keep that blood pumping, so to speak.

"Okay, now give it a light nudge. You want to hit the center of the cue ball."

"That's the white one, right?"

I breathed my lungs full of his wonderful scent and attempted to do what he told me to. I missed the ball completely. I know, I was so fucking talented.

"That was... a good start."

I giggled. Yeah, it was an awesome start. I could already tell that I had so much potential in this game. Jasper's chest was vibrating suspiciously so I was pretty sure that he was trying to hold in his laughter. He was probably trying to be polite. He was so goddamn good!

"That was pathetic. You know, you can be honest with me. I can take some criticism."

Well, I couldn't take criticism very well. Actually, I was horrible at it, but I had a feeling that Jasper would be able to give some constructive criticism without it feeling insulting.

Besides, if I was being all brutally honest with him, I would like him to be honest too.

"It was your first try. It wasn't that bad, lil' darling. Let's just try it again, yeah? Take it a little bit slower and focus on the aiming part."

Yeah, I think it would've been easier if I didn't have this unbelieavably sexy vampire hugging my body from the behind whispering stuff in my ear in that orgasmic voice.

"It's because this table is too high." I muttered. I could always blame everything on my height. It was one of the many perks of being so fucking short.

Jasper gave a little laugh and then he nudged my stick-holding arm just the tiniest bit so I would get a move on. I poked out my tongue in concentration and tried to give a slow and steady push.

This time I managed to hit the ball... in the bottom part. My stick hit the table and it left a nice little scratch on the velvety surface.

"Oopsie!"

Jasper sighed heavily and dropped his head on my shoulder. It felt like he was shaking his head, but I wasn't sure as I still couldn't see him.

"I'm blaming all of this on your very distracting sex powers." It just slipped out. Fuck me and my stupid honesty. It was getting ridiculous!

At least I made Jasper snort in laughter again. I felt accomplished. I might've sucked at pool, but hey, I was excellent at making him laugh. That had to count as some sort of skill, right?

"But aren't I your gay best friend? Why would I use my 'sex powers' on you?"

Fucking hell. He was fucking purring right in my ear. Like, his lips were touching my ear and I was so done. The Niagra falls were fully operational in my pants. Jasper wasn't allowed to do shit like this! I had specifically asked him not to up his game or I'd be a fucking goner!

I turned around so I could face him. I slapped his chest to show my disapproval. It might've been more effective if I hadn't been eyefucking him. It was so not my fault, though!

"That's so unfair!" I huffed, leaning against the pool table. Jasper's arms came to rest on either side of me, blocking any chances I had of escaping.

Not that I could think of a situation where I'd want to escape from a position like this. This was a special kind of heaven and I was all for it.

"You started this, lil' darling. You know I don't like to lose a challenge..."

I rolled my eyes. He was impossible. But you know, I could respect that. I didn't like to lose either and I was a stubborn bitch.

"So are you going to do something about it, or are you just all talk, Major Whitlock?"

Fuck... what made me say that? I was so fucking stupid! Why did I have to start something I knew we couldn't finish? Damn these fucking hormones...

Jasper's eyes bled black and it was a fucking party in my pants. I let out a little 'eep' as Jasper took a hold of my waist and hoisted me up on the pool table. Hello, my dirty fantasies! I never thought you'd come true, but damn!

"Oh, the things I would like to do to you, Ella Johnson... There are so many ways I'd like to make you scream in utter pleasure. You shouldn't play with fire like this."

We agreed on that. I had a fucking tunnel vision when it came to Jasper. It was so fucking easy to forget everything when he was being all sexy and playful and dangerous. Like he fact that this all was just supposed to be pretending. I shouldn't be encouraging him and I sure as hell wasn't supposed to be throwing myself at him whenever I got the chance.

"See, this is exactly why you should be my gay best friend. This is so fucking dangerous..." I mumbled.

I wrapped my arms around his waist and pressed my cheek against his chest. We had to bring things down a notch, but I wasn't willing to make things awkward by putting distance between us. I figured that cuddling would be the perfect way to go. It was something that friends did, right?

Jasper's arms slid highed up my back and he started rocking us gently. Mmh, yeah this was good. Comforting and warm and wonderful.

"Should I start talking in stereotypically effeminate voice?" He asked quietly. I couldn't see his face, but I was pretty sure he was smirking.

I snorted in a very un-ladylike manner. My whole body shook as I laughed quietly into Jasper's chest. I kind of wanted to hear him go full gay with his demeanor, but it would probably be offensive. Not that there was anyone around to care about such things, but it was the principle of the thing.

"Okay, how is this considered teaching? You two just need to get a room and get it out of your systems." Brody interrupted us. Of course. What a fucking nuisance.

We pulled apart. I was still feeling all sorts of tingly and horny, but I thought I had it under control. For now. I pressed my hands against my hot cheeks and tried to get a mental picture of how messed-up I must've looked.

"Why did you have to interrupt them? You are cock-blocking your sister." Faye said with a wide grin.

Of course when Faye decided to get all potty-mouthy, it has to be because she's bullying me. I gave her the finger. She deserved it.

"Hey! I just suggested that they get a room. I'm all for Jasper getting his freak on with my sister, but I don't want to witness it. I'm into some kinky shit, but that's not my scene."

GROSS! Ew ew ew ew ewewww!

"WAY too much information! You are such a pig!" I screamed, covering my ears and shaking my head violently.

Gee, thanks for that mental image that would forever haunt me.

"Oh please. You were just minutes away from dropping your pants there, sis. _That_ would have been too much information. Besides, we need you two. Faye is cheating again, not that she'd ever admit that, and we decided that we need teams. Girls vs Boys."

Brody tossed the miniature basketball in his hands. Faye let out a small huff that told me she was strongly disagreeing with my brother. I turned my attention back to Jasper. He was observing us with a slight grin on his face. Okay, he was having way too much fun with our family dynamic.

"You want to get your ass kicked by a little girl?" I asked, pushing the last of my horny thought to the back of my mind. To the crowded company of all the things I didn't want to deal with.

Jasper raised his eyebrow at my challenge. Yeah, he might've been a bad-ass vampire, but I was the fucking mini basketball queen. And with the actual basketball prodigy in my team, the boys were fucking going down.

"Bring it on, Johnson."

Oh, I was going to.

000

"How did this happen? Brody, I thought you said you were great at basketball!" Jasper cried out. He was leaning against Brody's frame. Pretending to be exhausted on the floor. It was adorable.

I learned a new thing about Jasper. He did know how to lose gracefully. Or more accurately, he was willing to restrain himself enough so he could be beaten by a puny mortal girl in a friendly death-match of basketball.

I had my arm around Faye's waist and I was fucking glowering. We had won. No surprise there. Faye _was_ the captain of her school's basketball team. They actually were pretty fucking successful for such a small school. Faye and Leah Clearwater were an unbeatable combination.

"I also told you that my fiance is a goddess of basketball, didn't I?" Brody muttered darkly, panting heavily.

I raised my eyebrow.

"Are you forgetting someone, brother dearest?"

I fucking wanted my recognition. I deserved all the glory. I had been a fucking magnificent beast on the 'court' that we had constructed. Hell, I had even tackled my brother so hard that he had a bump on his head.

I should probably feel bad about that, but it wasn't like Brody had much of anything worth protecting in that big head of his. Besides, all was fair in a game of basketball between siblings.

"You were cheating the entire time! That tackle was against the rules!"

"Dude, what rules? You are just a sucky loser. Grow a pair."

"Me?! Who was the one that started crying when-"

"Stop it, you two. It's lunch time already. Should we head out?" Faye broke up the fight before we could even get warmed up. Spoilsport.

I didn't want to leave the room. It was a fucking sanctuary, being so far away from my relatives. I was more than happy to stay here for the entire weekend. Just stay here for the entire day and then sneak in to the cabin when it was time to sleep.

But, I was actually kind of starving. I hadn't actually eaten anything at all over breakfast. Even my berries had gone untouched after the Bitch Supreme had graced us with her toxic presence. Nobody would be hungry after that.

Now my stomach was growling and I was so not happy about it. I wasn't mentally prepared to go back out there.

Not to mention that there was the very real chance that either one of the guys would lose it the moment they save Ariel's doggy face. Brody, as annoying and stupid as he was, did take his role as my big brother super seriously when we were faced with our relatives. And Jasper...

Well, I was pretty sure he hadn't given up on his newfound dream of ripping Ariel into shreds.

"Do we have to?" I asked, ignoring my body's demands for food. A little fasting wouldn't kll me. I could stop eating for a couple of days. Hell, it might even do some good after all the shit I had been munching on the last couple of days!

"Yeah, let's go see that darling cousin of ours..." Brody said darkly. Way to change the mood there, brother. I rolled my eyes at him. Boys and their violent ways.

"Not you too. I swear you two think violence is the answer to everything." I said.

Jasper gave me a side look that was screaming 'are you for real'. Okay, so I did say I was going to kill Ariel one day. And I meant it. The bitch was going down, but that would be years down the line. I wouldn't do anything before my plan was perfect. And until that day came, I fought this war the female way.

The fucking right way.

"What do you guys think will happen if you go and smash that doggy face in? We'll be the bad guys in that situation. Going after her directly like that will do us no good."

Faye nodded along with me. See, she got it. She had been in her fair share of conflicts with other girls. She knew exactly how things like these should be handled.

"Oh? And how should we go about it? Let her get away with it? I don't think so, lil' darling." Jasper said, getting up from the floor and wrapping his arms around me.

So warm...

Argh! He was making it so hard to think straight. It had to be intentional. He was clearly trying to butter me up so I would let him have his fun with Ariel. I was so fucking tempted to do just that. It would make him so happy... at least for a hot second before his conscience would come knocking. Then he'd be no fun to be around.

Yeah, I needed to have words with the person who was responsible for Jasper's shame of himself. I had a sneaking suspicion on who was to blame, but I couldn't just say that particular name out loud. It wasn't my place to stick my nose into other people's relationships.

"Who's letting her get away with it? I'm just saying that beating her up isn't going to do me any favors."

"I wasn't planning on beating her up, sweetheart..." Jasper whispered under his breath. Fucking shivers, man! My whole spine was tingling deliciously. There was just something about him promising to kill my enemies that made me feel so fucking special...

"Ella is saying that doing things your way isn't the right way to go. Girls have their own way of fighting and it's much crueler than just a busted up face." Faye said with a fucking lethal grin.

Okay, so she could stick around after all. Her earlier behavior was forgiven and she was back on my good side.

Brody took a cautionary step away from his fiance. Yeah, I didn't think he was willing to ever piss off Faye ever again. Not that I was aware that he had ever done so, but now he would pay extra care to keep her happy. He was so whipped.

Jasper looked like he was mulling it over. He wanted to go for the easy kill, but my way was just so much more satisfying. He just didn't know Ariel like I did. He had no idea what her soft targets even were. But I did... and I intended to attack every single one of them for the sole purpose of ruining her fucking wedding.

"Fine, I'll drop it for now. But Ella, if she even _thinks_ about hurting you again, I will end her. Your safety is more important to me than revenge." He eventually said, close to my ear so Brody and Faye couldn't hear him. Although I was pretty sure they were back in their own little world and oblivious to everything around them.

"And that's why I love you."

Wait...

What?

What did I just say...?

Oh god... oh dear god, please no.

No... no no no no no no no no! FUCK! Great. You fucking idiot. Ella, you had just _one_ job! This couldn't be happening. This wasn't supposed to happen. I didn't want this to happen. Fuck it all!

I was in love with Jasper Whitlock.

Just kill me now.

* * *

Author's Final Notes:

Gasp! Oh no she didn't! Don't we all just love Ella's inability to keep her honest feelings to herself? ;)

Now we're getting somewhere with this story. Ooh, I wonder what's going to happen next... Not literally, of course since I actually know the answer to that. But hey, tension!

Also, I didn't quite manage to hit my goal, but we're getting there folks. And this is improvement from the last time, right? Let's just hope that I'll keep getting better at sticking to my schedule. This was another rather lenghty chapter, so I'm going to give myself another pass.

I promise that I'll do my best to update this story soon, as nobody likes a long-ass cliffhanger. But I'm going to apologize anyway because I am leaving a cliffhanger to begin with. I'm just cruel like that.

Hey! We have almost reached 10 000 views! Thank you all so much. It makes me feel important. And I still get butterflies every time my phone notifies me that someone has followed/favorited/reviewed my story. It always makes my day a 100 times better. So really, from the bottom of my heart; Thank you!

Okay, that's enough for now. I must go and start working on the next chapter. I hope you liked this long-ass chapter!


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15: A Journey Into Major Whitlock's Messy Past**

* * *

"Uh... What did you just say?"

Shit. This was bad. Really, really bad. Okay, so let's say that I was in love with Jasper. For argument's sake. Things happen. It sucked, but it wouldn't be the end of the world... hopefully.

But the fact that I had just said it out loud... Yeah, my life was over.

"You know, in a totally platonic, buddy-buddy way." I said awkwardly, trying to will my no doubt red face to stay neutral. I had to try and save this situation. Call me crazy, but being rejected by my fake boyfriend before the wedding was over and done with? Not on my to-do list. Shit would be so fucking awkward.

"I don't think that's what you meant." Jasper said. It was hard to tell how he was feeling about my little blunder, since I was making an effort to avoid looking into his general direction as much as possible. It would be Game Over if I looked at him right now.

"I don't know what you mean. I tell my friends I love them all the time."

There was a bubble of panic growing in my chest. I was going to fucking drop dead. It felt like I couldn't breath. Fuck fuck fuck! Why couldn't I keep my stupid mouth shut?! Why the hell did I just say the 'L' word again? There was something seriously wrong with me.

I looked around me, trying to figure my way out of this mess. Brody and Faye had chosen the perfect fucking moment to stop eyefucking each other and they were staring at me. I fucking knew that Brody was _always_ eavesdropping. What was it with the nosy guys in my life?! Sheesh, just let a girl have a private meltdown...

There was nothing to it. I had to make the only logical choice. Get the hell away from them all.

"Oh, would you look at the time. I'm just sooooo hungry. I'll talk to you guys later bye!" I said cheerfully and tried to make my way past the wall that was my enormous brother and his abnormally tall fiance. Easy peasy. I could just slip through their legs or something.

I was almost out of Jasper's arms when they tightened around me and locked me in. Fucking shit! Goddamn it all! Why couldn't he stay stunned for like five more seconds?! I was almost free!

"Oh no, lil' darling. You are not running away from me." He said in a low voice. I didn't have the guts to turn and look at him. I knew I probably wouldn't like what I would see. I mean, what were the chances that he'd declare his undying love for me? So fucking close to zero.

He had Alice. Goddamn Alice and their fucking perfect marriage. Immortal lovers and all that shit. Oh my god, he was going to try and turn me down gently, wasn't he? So fucking inconsiderate. A little bit cruelty was what this situation needed. If Jasper could stop being so fucking nice and gentle and polite for one second then maybe my stupid brain would start working properly.

"Who's running away? This is a tactical retreat." I grumbled under my breath.

I wasn't about to admit how fucking scared I was. It was bad enough that Jasper could feel whatever I was feeling, so I would never say it out loud. Denial was my best friend. I just needed to get some distance between us so I could break down in peace and put myself back together before lunch was over.

I could do it. I had done it more times than I can count. Okay, so I hadn't had this exact nerve-wracking shit show happen to me, but weren't all the breakdowns the same?

"Umm... We're just going to..." Brody said awkwardly.

Oh no, please stay and witness my utter humiliation. All that was missing from this scenario was my mom and dad appearing out of nowhere and fucking Ariel overhearing everything.

"Would you please look at me, Ella? We need to talk about this."

Hell no! There was absolutely no way that I would look at Jasper. My head was messed up enough already. I didn't want to add my horny thoughts to that mix. It just didn't feel right to think about boning the guy who was about to tell you how much he loved someone else. But that was just me.

"No, like I really need to go. It's lunchtime."

The important thing was to keep it together. Just five more minutes. I just had to survive for five more minutes and then I could fall completely apart.

"It's horrible... It's like I'm watching a car crash and I want to turn away but I can't..." Faye said and holy fuck! Could she maybe like, I don't know, tone down the bitchy act for a moment? I knew that she couldn't relate because she had a fucking fantasy romance going on with my brother, but come on!

Keep it together, Ella. Don't let that panic take over. This was so not the time to start hyperventilating. Deep breaths. Calm mind. Don't you dare start crying!

"Aw shit... Just... try not to make her cry too much, yeah? Let's go, honey..." Brody mumbled and started tugging Faye away with him. Fuck...

It was just the two of us. I couldn't handle this. I was going to lose it. I was going to be fucking crushed. Shit...

"Look at me, Ella. Please."

How nice of him to add that 'please' to the obvious command. Like, who the hell did he think he was? He was not my commanding officer and if I didn't want to look at him, then I wasn't going to fucking look at him!

Jasper let out a deep sigh and then he added a little more pressure to his hold on me and turned my body against my wishes. What a fucking asshole. We would be having words about that. You know, as soon as I didn't want to die from embarrasment.

I took a deep breath and looked up. Fuck. Bad fucking choice. He was looking down at me with such a heartbreakingly concerned look on his face. This was so fucking unfair! It was too much.

"I don't want to talk about this. Let's just forget that I said anything and stick to the plan..."

I knew it wasn't going to work, but I had to try. There was a lump in my throat that was the size of a fucking grapefruit. I needed to get away.

My breathing got more shallow. It was going to happen. A full blown meltdown was imminent.

"I'm sorry, but we need to... Ella, I can't ignore what you just said. It's... problematic."

Yeah, those are just the sweet, sweet words that every girl wants to hear. So he thought I was problematic. Great. Just fucking great.

My nose was prickling. I was either going to sneeze or I was just seconds away from crying.

"That came out wrong. I mean that it's complicated and we need to discuss this." Yeah, nice save there buddy.

"Are you going to bail on me?" I asked, swallowing down the cry-lump. I sniffed and rubbed my nose. Because it was dusty and totally not because I wanted to cry. Shit, why were my eyes itchy? If I reached up to rub my eyes, Jasper would think I was crying.

I was going to wager a guess that he didn't like it when I cried. He had been pretty upset during breakfast. If he thought he was the reason I was crying... Yeah, I didn't want that to happen.

Because I loved him. Fuck it all.

Hurting Jasper Whitlock was out of the question, so this conversation couldn't happen. My feelings would only make him uncomfortable and guilty and I wasn't having any of that.

"What? Of course not! I made a promise and I'm-"

"A man of your word, yeah I remember. So there really is no need to go more into this."

I was going to hurt Angela once I got back home. It was her fucking fault that I was so into honest and open communication. Those stupid books of hers... Hell, she had ruined so many things for me. I used to love Romeo and Juliet. I thought it was so romantic. Angela had to ruin it by bringing _logic_ and _facts_ to the table. I was blaming this honest take on my relationship with Jasper on her too. She was a fucking bad influence.

"Ella, why do you think you're in love with me?"

I blinked up at him stupidly. What kind of question was that? Why did I _think_ I was in love with him? As in implying that I wasn't really? I narrowed my eyes and my upper lip curled slightly.

"Excuse me? Are you doubting my feelings?"

Jasper let go of me and took a few steps back, lifting his arms in an apologetic position. My hands found their way to my hips and I tried to stare him down. It looked like it might've actually worked. His wide eyes were slightly panicky.

"No, no! I just meant-"

"Let me make this perfectly clear, you moron. I am in love with you. End of story. I would prefer not to feel this way, but you just had to be so fucking kind to me. This is all your fault! You're the one who is all supportive and nice and funny and protective and charming and sexy as hell! Don't you fucking dare question my feelings."

What can I say? I get over things real fast when something else needs my undivided attention. I simply didn't have time to have a mental breakdown and a sob fest when I had to put this idiot to his place. How _dare_ he try and tell me how I feel...

"Uh..."

"And I totally get it that you don't feel the same, and that's fine. But that doesn't give you the right to doubt the realness of my feelings. God, if you acted like this more often then maybe I wouldn't have fallen in love with you!"

I most definitely wouldn't have fallen in love with him if he acted like this all the time. Hell, bring back the Jasper from our pre-wedding meeting and I would have spat in his eye before falling for him. But oh no! Of course this fucking moron had to show me the REAL Jasper!

"Are you... blaming me?"

Hell yes! He was solely responsible for this mess. How was I supposed to fight his charm? I was just a weak human! He should've been more careful.

Jasper smiled sadly and bravely took a hold of my hand. His thumb rubbed circles on my skin and my body started its engines. Just what I needed...

"The reason I asked was... we have blurred the line between acting and reality quite extensively. I can sense your more... _physical_ feelings so strongly all the time. I know you want me, but why would you love _me_? If you knew all that I have done..." His voice faded like it was too painful for him to speak.

I took a deep breath, reigning in my annoyance. It was so hard to not say anything about his wife. The truth was that I had no idea what kind of relationship they had. Maybe something else was causing his self esteem problems. I didn't know shit, and it wasn't even my fucking place to know.

"Then tell me. Tell me everything horrible you've done and we'll see if I actually love you."

For a hot second I was sure he'd pull away and leave me standing in the game room by my lonesome. He got this dark look on his face and it was like he was debating with himself. I bit my lip to stop myself from pressing the issue. If he said no, I would just have to respect that, no matter how curious I was.

I probably shouldn't have been. He had told me that he used to kill folks left and right. Not exactly something I should be looking forward to hearing about. But then again, I was fucked up in the head and all I could feel was curiousity. I wanted to understand him better and honestly, there were not many things that would make my feelings for him change.

We all have done fucked up shit in our past. Hell, I was actively plotting the murder of the Bitch Queen. I didn't have much leeway to get all morally superior on his beautiful face.

"Are you sure...? It's not easy to hear." He said carefully. Almost like he was scared.

Shit. Was he afraid that I'd end up telling him that he was in fact a horrible monster that needed to be put down? Yeah, like that was going to happen.

"Tell me. Give me all the dirty details."

And he did.

000

"As I told you before, I was put in charge of training and maintaining Maria's army. You remember how I said I had to show my dominance over them? I started by ripping their limbs off as soon as their change was completed. I kept the limbs safely tucked away so they couldn't re-attach them before I gave the permission to do so." Jasper started his tale.

Huh... vampires could re-attach their limbs? That was handy as fuck. I mean, imagine being an immortal and having just nubs for arms and legs.

"Is there a time limit to that? Like can you potentially re-attach your hand after 100 years?"

What? I was curious. I wished I had my notebook...

Jasper grinned slightly. We walked to the ratty couch and sat down. I pulled my knees up and into Jasper's lap just like I had done with Faye earlier. It was comfy and I really appreciated his warm hands resting on top of them. Who said we couldn't cuddle when discussing murder and mayhem?

"It'll be difficult after a few weeks, but there are rumours of an ancient Chinese vampire who has trained his body and mind so his body part remain viable for decades. Anyways, I would usually keep them like that for three to four days. Just long enough to break any resistance. I also starved them for weeks. Made them beg for someone to drink. It was crucial to make them see me as their master."

I noticed the faintest of smiles touching his lips before he snapped out of it. Well, it didn't surprise me. He did like his control. I wasn't repulsed by that. It might've told more about my questionable morals than his actions. Besides, it made sense to me. You couldn't just have vampires running around trying to kill you. Duh.

"Every day, I would choose one of them to fight me to the death. This was to create an illusion that I was unbeatable, so resistance was futile. I also used it as a way to train myself to be just that. At the largest, our army was over 600 vampires strong. I needed to keep them all in line, so this was necessary. Maria could always make more newborns, so she encouraged these battles wholeheartedly."

Oookay... So, I was feeling very inappropriately tingly. Like, the mere thought of Jasper going full gladiator made my body all sorts of hot and bothered. What the fuck was wrong with me? Well, so many things, but I was pretty sure my own self esteem problems weren't a contributing factor to this insanity.

Jasper raised one of his eyebrows as if asking 'seriously?' I felt like we had already established that I was horny 24/7 when I was around him. I had no idea why this was so surprising to him.

"Shut up. Just continue." I huffed.

"Every once in a while, I would reward the best performing soldiers by taking them to some remote little town... and then we would feast. I'm talking about killing off whole towns to satiate our blood lust. I would drain dozens of defenseless humans and enjoy myself. The joy of my soldiers overwhelmed the fear my victims were feeling, so it was an euphoric experience for me."

He was looking at me like was just waiting for a sign that I was done with him. Tought luck there, buddy. I was still okay with his past so far. Like, it wasn't ideal by any stretch of imagination. Murder was bad and all that. But he was a fucking vampire. This was what I had expected and this was what I assumed vampire's true nature was. Predators just doing what comes naturally.

Honestly, if I ever happened to become a vampire, I'd probably kill people left and right. Circle of life... it was a beautiful thing.

"Maria was a cruel woman. She got off from watching other people in pain. I would entertain her by torturing her dinner before serving them to her by ripping their throats out and spilling their blood in a goblet. She had a taste for the theatrics. Sometimes, if the victim was a man who had looked at Maria and felt lust, I enjoyed torturing them and ending their pathetic lives. Those I would eat myself as I didn't want any part of them touching the woman I loved."

"Oh, so you loved Maria? How did that end?"

That's right, Ella. Skip all of that information about his sadistic torture sessions and focus on what was truly important; his apparently failed relationship with the woman who made him. Goddamn I was so simple-minded.

But hey, at least I acknowledged it? That had to earn me some brownie points, right?

"I thought she loved me too. It took me decades to realize that she couldn't feel love. Her human life was brutal and cruel. She didn't often mention it, but she revealed enough for me to determine that the ability to love was stripped away from her centuries ago. Once I understood that Maria could never love me, all of the violence and bloodshed started to catch up to me."

"I think the worst thing I did, the one that I'm most ashamed of, was that I tried to kill Charlotte."

Wait... wasn't Charlotte the name of his best friend's wife? There had to be a story there... one that he'd better tell me right away.

"Maria only wanted newborns in her army, so she naturally wanted to get rid of the vampires who lived to their maturity. They usually lived until they were about two years old and then I would execute them. I never enjoyed this part of my duties, but it made sense to me at the time. I had only ever once intervened with an execution and that was when it was Peter's time. I convinced Maria that he was useful to our cause. She allowed Peter to become my second-in-command.

Peter was smitten with Charlotte from the moment he laid his eyes on her. I had never witnessed a love like that. Doubt creeped into my mind. How would Peter react when it was Charlotte's time to go? She wasn't exceptionally brilliant or strong. She would never be anything but a foot soldier and Maria didn't keep those around. No exception would be given to Charlotte. I debated with myself what was the best way to deal with it. The cruel, sadistic part of me that had began to blossom under Maria's command wanted to force Peter to do it. She was his weakness and we couldn't have weakness within our ranks. The humanity in me won. I would kill her myself."

Holy shit this was interesting. I inched myself closer and lifted Jasper's arm so I could duck under it. I breathed in his wonderful scent and hummed to let him know that I was still listening.

"Peter begged me to spare Charlotte. He planned to run away from the army with her. He wanted me to leave with them. For a while, I thought about doing just that. But I loved Maria. She was my everything. I had my hands around Charlotte's throat, ready to rip her head off. Peter was so close to attacking me, but I released her. Let them escape. This is what lead me to realize that Maria had never loved me. She did not take kindly to the new of me letting soldiers to run away.

Maria started to mistrust me. She feared that I would plan a coup and destroy her. So she started to plan getting to me first. I felt the shift in her emotions, heard every lie and I knew what she was up to. Ironically, this forced me to prepare a pre-emptive strike against her. I don't know what would've happened if he ever went head-to-head. Peter returned before our confrontation happened and told me about the way things were done in the North. I left right away."

I was still waiting for the part that made him into a monster. I mean, sure it was all kind of morally questionable to put it lightly. Especially the 'let's make Peter kill the love of his wife' bit. But hey, Jasper walked away from that the second a better choice came along. And he was not cruel with me. Aside from that one teeny tiny strangling incident, he had never tried to hurt me in any way. In fact, he was trying to protect me from everything that could possibly harm me. _That_ was what counted to me.

Of course, what he had done wasn't _right_ , but I didn't really care. I was kind of fine with him being a sadistic murderer. Which, you know, a little alarming thing to learn about myself, but what could I do? I was blaming my upbringing. My parents had fucked me up in the head growing up. It was just a matter of time before I had blood on my own hands, so really, who was I to judge Jasper?

"Was that it, or did you do bad things after you got out too?"

Again with the disbelieving look. Like, I thought we had established that I was fucking nuts. Why did he think I would react like normal people? Besides, I could name a handful people who would agree with my opinion on Jasper. So obviously he was on the wrong side of this argument.

"Wasn't that enough? I continued drinking human blood from victims who didn't deserve it. Now that I was alone, I could feel all of the pain and fear of my victims so much clearer. They started to take a toll on me. I tried to stop myself from feeding, but it would only end with me losing control and slaughtering entire families to sate my thirst. I was contemplating ending my own life when... when I met Alice."

Ahh, now we got to the sweet Alice. The purest of angels who introduced animal diet to Jasper. The one who I was pretty sure had told Jasper just how incredibly disgusting she thought he was. Fuck, I could relate to Jasper's issues so well. Years and years of listening to my relatives tearing me down and my self worth was in tatters.

I opened my mouth to blurt out something incredibly stupid, but I snapped out of it before the words got out of my mouth. I was so not going to ask him if Alice was the one who called him monster and not worthy of love.

"You don't seem to like Alice very much..."

Fuck... of course he had to catch that. I cleared my throat, suddenly finding the hem of his t shirt suuuuper interesting. How was I going to talk myself out of this mess without angering him?

"Ah well, you know, love rival and all that." I said. It wasn't _that_ much of a stretch. It had to be one of the biggest contributing factors for why I didn't like Alice. I mean, most of this had to be because I was jealous and petty, right?

"Why does it feel like that's not the whole truth? You can tell me anything, Ella. I hope you know that." He said and pulled me closer to his wonderfully warm body. Okay, Jasper-cuddles were the fucking greatest thing ever invented! How could I scam him into giving them to me even after we were done with our relationship? I would have to think on that.

"I don't think it's my place to comment on a relationship I know nothing about. And no matter what I say, it's going to sound super bitchy and petty, right? Because I love you so I'm automatically biased."

Yeah, so apparently I was incapable of stopping my usage of that fucking word. This was going to be fucking fantastic. I could already imagine me blurting my love for him out loud in front of his wife. I wondered if that would go over well.

"I just told you the horrible things I've done in my life and you seem quite unfazed by it all. I think I should show you the same courtesy. You are quite insightful, lil' darling."

So... that was totally a permission to rip into Alice, wasn't it? It was so fucking tempting.

"I just don't want you to think that I'm trying to... like poison your relationship or something. You are happy with her, and I want you to be happy. I mean, I would prefer you to be happy with me, obviously, but I'll take what I can get."

Jasper's hand grabbed my chin gently and tilted my head up so our eyes met. He was looking at me so softly... it made my heart race and that was so not okay with me. No matter how fucking amazing it made me feel. Kind of gave me some seriously mixed feelings.

"Ella, I do have feelings for you. It should be quite obvious by now. I can't seem to keep my hands to myself when you are around. There is something primal within me that wants to keep you close to me at all times, to protect you..."

I was fucking melting. It was a good thing that I was sitting down and I had Jasper there to support my weight, because I was pretty much boneless. I couldn't get up and walk away even if I wanted to. And I didn't. Not at the moment, at least. I had a feeling that would change pretty fucking soon. There was a damn huge 'BUT' in the air.

"However, all of this leaves me very confused. Are these my real feelings, or am I projecting your feelings? I have never been around a human who _feels_ so strongly. Your emotions overwhelm me. You deserve better than uncertainty. Not to mention..."

"You have a wife. Yeah, that's not ideal for a new romance."

Jasper sighed and caressed the side of my face. It felt like he didn't like the fact that he was taken right then. There was a very unwelcomed spark of hope in my chest. I was so not going to be a fucking home wrecker. I could never do that to Jasper.

"She's not just my wife. Alice is my mate."

And what the fuck was that supposed to mean? Like, was he talking about some fated lovers type of shit? Sure, I believed in true love. Kind of hard not to when everyone in your family marry their one and only loves at a young age and then they tend to stay together until death do them apart. But some pre-determined red-string, fate thing? Hell no!

"What do you mean? Like some one true love type of stuff?" I asked.

It didn't bode well for my secret plans to steal Jasper all to myself... No, wait. I mean my secret plans to... support Jasper as his _friend._ Yeah. I was totally not drooling over him and wanting him to just drop everything and make me his. Preferrably by fucking me so hard that I drowned into the disgusting couch cushions we were sitting on. So not on my mind...

"Vampires have mates. Our other halves that complete us. There is something in our biology that drives us to mate with our perfect partners. Some speculate that this is an evolutionary precaution to ensure the survival of our species from extermination. Mates will move heaven and earth to protect one another. Alice is my mate."

"Okay... but you were in love with Maria, right? How does that work?"

I wasn't buying it. Jasper had just told me that he loved Maria so fucking much that he became a sadistic murderer for her. How was that possible if he had a pre destined lover out there somewhere? Or was it like the Quilete wolf-mojo? One look at your 'true love' or whatever the fuck they called it, and BAM! Nothing else mattered anymore?

"I... I thought I did. She was all I knew once upon a time. When I met Alice, I knew how wrong I was. We had an instant connection. Alice saved my life..."

We would just have to agree to disagree about that. I mean, I didn't know the entire story about him and Maria, but that felt like 'instant connection' too. I couldn't quite wrap my head around how it was so different with Alice.

And was it just me, or did it sound a lot more like he felt indebted to Alice than he was truly in love with her? It must've been my pettiness talking. I was just trying to grasp on whatever straw I could to keep the annoying hope alive.

It would've been so much easier if I could buy in the whole 'soulmates' thingy. It would suck to deal with a broken heart, but I could get over something like that. All the normal kids did, so why wouldn't I be able to? It was pretty much impossible to get over this stupid 'love' thing when some tiny part of me held onto hope that maybe Jasper would some day love me...

"Whatever. Now that we've established that I love you, even after you told me what you've done, can we go? Because I'm like starving. Really."

I should just push it to the back of my mind. I swear I was going to explode some day soon. It wasn't healthy to bottle shit up like this, but I honestly didn't have time to deal with my problems right now. It wasn't like I had ever had my priorities right.

There was a wedding to sabotage, after all.

* * *

Author's Final Notes:

So... it's a little late again. Sorry about that. I had the worst case of procrastination sickness. No excuses, I'm just a lazy piece of shit who can't focus on anything longer than two minutes. Curse us Millenials, am I right? :D

I was originally planning on moving the story along a little bit more, but then I came to the realization that this conversation should probably happen between Ella and Jasper. So, our regularly scheduled 'plot' (lol) kicks in next time. There might be a spectacular shit show on its way... Please enjoy this interlude in the meantime.

I'll keep this short and sweet, as I should be sleeping right about now. Alas, I felt the strong need to post this before I could relax so here we are. Let's see... I'm sorry that I kept you all waiting for so long. I'm working on my inability to get things done on time. :P

Also, wowza! Over 11000 views! You guys make me so fucking happy. And pumped af to keep going, despite what my sluggish posting might indicate! Thank you all for following, favoriting and commenting. It's always a great fun to read what you guys think of my story. And thank you all for being so patient. I'm aware that this is suuuuuuper slow paced story.

But like I think I said earlier, it's a marathon. Life's a journey and all the other cliche's! Let's all have an amazing week, yeah? I'll see you soon... hopefully. :D


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16: The Great Unravelling, Part 1**

* * *

If I thought about it, I would probably classify this as the new low point in my life. Hiding in the fucking bushes wasn't exactly something I could be proud of. But this was kind of necessary for my mission so I was determined to _not_ think about how humiliating this would be if anyone saw me.

Jasper was with me, so the chances of me getting caught were close to zero. It was handy to have a supernatural guard dog with you when getting into some mischief.

I just had to try and not to think about the hundreds of creepy crawlies surrounding me. It was so gross and I thought I could feel every single one of them on my body. It was almost enough for me to screech like a fucking banshee and get the hell away.

Revenge was worth it. It had to be.

"Would it be rude of me to mention that we could have just stayed at the cabin while we waited? I can listen in on anyone on this venue if I focus hard enough." Jasper whispered into my ear. This was so not the time for him to do stuff like that!

I had to keep my head in the game and he was not helping. Stupid sexy vampires.

"And you couldn't tell me this twenty minutes ago when I crawled into this fucking gross bush?"

There might've been a teeny tiny bit of resentment in my voice. Like, if he had a better idea then why not share it with the class? Here I was, thinking that my stupid head was the one that had to think stuff up. I would've been happy to leave the big thinking to Jasper and his big and beautiful brain.

"You looked so determined and full of righteous anger. It was just too cute."

Okay he was laughing at me. I glared at him, feeling both turned on and fucking pissed off at the sight of his smug smirk. He could be such an asshole. It really was unfortunate that he was so fucking charming that it was impossible to dislike this kind of behavior.

"If I get any bugs in my hair, you'll be the one who gets to pluck them the fuck off. I hate bugs!" I hissed. Jasper didn't know it yet, but if any creepy bugs got under my clothes, he'd get the priviledge to get rid of them too. I did not touch bugs, not even to brush them off of skin. Okay, it was more like I went into total panic and was incapable to do it myself...

But if I told him that, he'd probably throw a handful of bugs at me just so he could mess with me. The boy did like winning and saying something like that would be taken as a challenge.

The thought of Jasper taking his time to _carefully_ de-bug me would've sounded way too good to pass, if it weren't for the 'bug' part of it. I was insanely into Jasper, but I would never voluntarily suffer the sight of bugs just to get his hands on me.

"Don't worry. I'll protect you from all the evil critters lurking about. You're perfectly safe, lil' darling."

"Why thank you. You're my hero, Major Whitlock."

Jasper tilted his head slightly and looked to the large cabin in front of us. Ariel's bridal suite.

Ugh... there she was, ready to ruin my entire day by just existing. Jasper growled softly and I reached for him blindly. My hand hit denim and it took me a hot second to realize that I was squeezing Jasper's thigh. His warm, muscular and very delicious thigh.

Fuck... my mouth felt super dry all of a sudden. Probably because all of the moisture in my body had gone down to have a fucking party in my pants. Our eyes locked and I was so fucking gone.

"Would you hate me if I asked you to kiss me right now?"

Yeah, I had no fucking filter. The words just tumbled out. Ariel who? Revenge what? What did insignificant stuff like that matter when I had a sexy vampire right in front of me?

Jasper moved closer to me. I was pushed back to my beautiful ass. I could feel the wet ground going right through my pants. Thank god I had decided to change into my leggings after lunch. I did not need to get my jeans dirty like this. Grass stains were a bitch to remove.

"Are you sure? If I kiss you now, you might miss your chance to sabotage your nemesis..." He whispered lowly. His eyes were downcast and I licked my lips. He let out another growl and hello, he was totally staring at my lips. Busted!

Jasper's hands came to rest on top of mine. He took a hold of them and squeezed them gently. It was amazing how much his arms radiated heat to my sides. He wasn't wearing his hoodie, but I still had mine on. I couldn't survive the lovely Washington spring without it. It did nothing to insulate the warmth of his body.

"Does that mean you'd be okay with it...?" I asked. My eyelids felt heavy. My face felt hot. My fucking body was tingly all over. Dear god I wanted this more than anything. Well, except maybe his dick, but that was probably not going to happen.

Ariel walked past our hiding spot. Her revolting stench pierced through Jasper's delicious scent and I wrinkled my nose a little bit. Was that even perfume or some sort of new chemical weapon of mass destruction? I pushed my body forward so I could bury my head into Jasper's chest. He smelled so much better than whatever the fuck that devil's spawn bathed in.

"Ella... I want you so badly that I would be okay with anything." He whispered right into my ear so we wouldn't be discovered.

Mmhh... I totally understood why he liked my honesty so much. It was so fucking sexy.

"How sure of that are you, Ariel? I mean, I could totally see _Ella_ do something so desperate. They just look so..."

Leave it to Elena to fucking ruin the moment for good. This much sexual tension couldn't be good for my health and people just kept fucking interrupting us! I was going to fucking die from sexual frustration if this continued.

Jasper scooted off of my body, smooth as fuck. Not a single rustle of leaves. It was super impressive and I was jealous. I couldn't move my body until the two bitches were out of earshot.

"She has to have some dirt on him. Jasper doesn't look like someone who would need cash so it has to be blackmail. Ella is so out of his league." The Bitch Supreme shrieked. Fucking hell, her voice was almost enough to make my ears bleed.

It didn't help that the fucking dog-faced devil was right. There was an all-too familiar sting in my chest. What a fucking wake-up call.

Because it was true that Jasper had been blackmailed into being my date. It was true that I was out of his league.

I wrapped the hoodie closer around my body. I pulled my knees up into my chest and rested my forehead on them. I felt disgusting. Like a fucking failure.

Jasper was just getting sucked into my stupid emotions again. It had to be. There was just no way someone like me would turn him on. What was I thinking? A girl who couldn't even attract your regular-ass high school boy, hooking up with the hottest vampire in existance?

Fuck it all. I was going to cry again. This was so not the plan! I wasn't supposed to start crying in front of Jasper again. He would feel all burdened by my issues. He'd think he was somehow responsible.

"Ella... don't listen to her. You hear me? She's wrong... look at me, sweetheart."

Great. We had the quivering lower lip going on. I sniffed pathetically and wrapped my arms tighter around myself. I heard Jasper moving around. I thought he was going to get away from me, but he wrapped his arm around my shoulders instead and pulled me into his body.

I lifted my head a little, one of my hands coming up to rub my eyes. Yup, we had tears ladies and gentleman. Ella Johnson was about to break down and fucking cry like there was no tomorrow.

Jasper's warm fingers came to brush my cheek. He tilted my head up so our eyes locked. He smiled so fucking tenderly... It made my heart speed up.

And then he kissed me.

I sighed against his lips. It was like a huge wave of relief washed over me. This was exactly what my body had been craving for ever since I got my first taste of Jasper Whitlock. I relaxed against him and his hand came to cup the back of my head.

He was so gentle. He moved his lips slowly and carefully, stealing my breath away. It was nothing like our first lust-filled kiss. It felt somehow so much more than that. The lust was there, bubbling low in my stomach, but at the moment my entire being was so focused on this tenderness that my hormones were in no rush to lunge forward.

Jasper dropped his other arm around my waist and hoisted me up so I ended up straddling him. I didn't even notice that any movement had happened until my knees touched the moist grass. I had the vague notion that I was still shorter than him even while in this position.

It was such a turn-on.

He was in full control and I was so fucking happy to just let him guide me. He was the one with all the experience anyway. My heart was bursting out of my chest, but I couldn't give a damn about something so insignificant. Jasper was kissing me. That was the important part.

His tongue slipped past my lips very sneakily. The noise I made couldn't even be described as a moan. It was more like a mix between a croon and a mewl that got stuck in my throat. Not that I was paying that much attention to what noises I was making. Everything in me was focused on Jasper. The feel of his lips, the taste of his tongue, his scent filling my lungs... It was heaven, pure heaven.

I think I forgot how to breathe for a moment. Or maybe I was just choking on the crying-feeling. Fuck if I knew. What did I care about breathing when Jasper was kissing me?

It felt like an eternity had passed and no time at all when Jasper pulled away. I may or may not have been gasping for breath like a fat woman on a jog, but he was gracious enough to not comment on it. Such a gentleman.

"You are more than good enough, Ella Johnson. You are a beautiful young woman and any man would be lucky to have the priviledge of being your lover." He said in a low voice. His eyes were so fucking soft as he looked at me.

It wasn't the passionate love confession that I wanted, but somehow it was maybe even better. Neither of us knew what the fuck we were doing and what exactly we were. I was sort of fine with it.

I had no idea what I wanted. On the other hand, I desperately needed him to leave Alice and tell me he loved me. But then, the guy I was in love with wouldn't just do something like that. I loved him _because_ he was so fucking considerate and kind and gentle.

And putting all of my mixed feelings aside, I had to think about what Jasper wanted. He had feelings for me. That was so amazing and I was so fucking gleeful about that. We had this electricity between us. There was no denying of that.

But the harsh reality was that Jasper was married to Alice. Presumably because he loved her. Whether it was because they were fucking 'mates' or if he felt indebted to her, it didn't matter. Not in the context of our feelings. That was something Jasper would have to figure out by himself and I would have to let him do just that without expecting anything.

I wasn't going to be the 'other woman' and if after all of this, he would choose Alice, I would have to deal with it. And that was okay.

It was life. It would suck balls and I would be a total mess, but I wasn't unfamiliar with hurt and pain. I'd get over it... eventually.

"Maybe one day I'll actually believe that. I just want to let you know that I understand this doesn't... mean anything. You know, like I'm not expecting anything just because you kissed me. Which was just... wow. I'm rambling now, aren't I?"

Me and my stupid mouth. Well, at least Jasper was amused. He laughed lightly.

"You flatter me, lil' darling. You're not too bad of a kisser yourself."

And now my hormones decided to wake up. My ears were fucking burning. It was kind of pathetic that he didn't even have to say anything more vulgar than that and I was all ready to bend over and drop my pants.

At least I wasn't feeling like crying my eyes out anymore. Who knew that Jasper-smoochies were the magical cure for my mental breakdowns?

"I'm just naturally gifted, I guess."

Wait a minute. I wasn't supposed to be having a romantic romp in the bushes with Jasper Whitlock. I was on a mission. I looked around to see if any of my overly nosy relatives were in sight and got up. I tried my best to dust off all the dirt in my leggings, but the wet spots remained.

I reached up to make sure my hair was still somewhat presentable. I grimaced when my fingers found a leaf stuck there. I did not want to know what I looked like. It had to be a giant mess.

"Okay! Let's go ruin my dear cousin's most special day." I said, feeling all giddy all of a sudden. This was going to be so fucking satisfying! Ariel Reagan would fucking woe the day she decided to start harassing me.

Jasper smirked and jumped up. What a show off. I rolled my eyes and started walking towards Ariel's cabin.

"Ella." Jasper took a hold of my hand. I turned to look at him and raised an eyebrow.

"Thank you for understanding. And I'm sorry."

Fuck. I felt that, right in my heart. A quick little stab. Or maybe I was in the early stages of heart failure. You never knew, not with the life I've led so far. Who knew what kind of toxins my mom had been secretly feeding me through the years? It didn't have to mean that my heart was breaking.

Not yet anyway. I was going to be just fine.

000

I tapped my chin, deep in thought. What should I do first? I had so many ideas and just so little time. I had to narrow down the mental list.

First of all, what was doable? I looked around me. The cabin was pristine as fuck. It was like it was ripped straight from some catalogue and nobody had ever stepped into it. I was half worried that Ariel would notice someone had been snooping around, but that bitch was so self-absorbed that she probably wouldn't pay much attention to her surroundings.

My eyes were drawn to her wedding dress. It was left out in the open so very... carelessly. It was almost like the universe was telling me to fuck with it. And really, who was I to question the will of the universe?

"I need to get Faye in here. I'm okay at sewing, but she's much better. It needs to be unnoticeable." I murmured to myself. I mean, Jasper obviously heard it, but I wasn't talking to him. Not really.

I also needed Faye's assistance with something else. It was too risky for me to come back later, so I had to do it now. I pulled out my cellphone and dialed Faye's number.

"You didn't happen to bring your sewing kit with you, did you?" I said as soon as Faye picked up. No time for pleasantries. Who knew how long the fucking rehearsal would take. I mean, it was possible that Justin realized what kind of beast he was marrying and he'd run away.

It could happen.

" _Of course I did. I never go anywhere without it. Your brother spares no thought to my wardrobe."_

Eww. Too much information! I swear Faye was just as bad as Brody. I didn't understand their need to broadcast their sex life to everyone around them.

"Great. Grab that and come to Ariel's cabin. Oh, and I need you to get something from my mom on the way."

There was no need to ask if Faye was willing to get her hands dirty. Johnsons stuck together and she was going to be one of us in a year. Besides, it wasn't like she liked Ariel in any way. It was nearly impossible to not hate that bitch.

" _I just know I'll regret this... Fine. What do you need from Marilyn?"_

I grimaced. A wave of unpleasant memories washed over me. My stomach clenched in phantom pain. I gave a quick side glance to Jasper and tried to keep my voice under control. He didn't need to know everything my mother did to me.

"Uhh... tell her that I'm feeling bloated and need _a cleanse._ "

Don't notice it, please don't notice it...

Fuck it all. Of course he noticed the slight pitch in my voice. He raised his eyebrow questioningly. Shit shit shit shit... How was I going to talk myself out of this situation? I didn't want him to go all homicidal on my mom.

" _Are you talking about... Ella, no! You do not need that stuff!_ "

And Jasper could hear everything. Fuck! It was time to panic.

"It's not for me! Just bring it, please? I'm not going to take it."

Shit. Now he was interested. He was frowning and was it just my imagination, or were his eyes a shade darker again? This was so not good. Think, Ella. Use that fucking brain of yours. It's not there to just prevent your skull from echoing!

I ended the call and tried to move on with the plan. It didn't work. Jasper's hand moved in a blur and suddenly he was holding my forearm in a tight grip. Not tight enough to hurt or anything, but a grip that told me I wasn't going anywhere without an explanation.

Why did I have to fall in love with a fucking supernaturally strong empath again? Stupid, stupid Ella.

"I get the distinct feeling that you've left something quite crucial out... something that I should most definitely know." He said softly. Deadly. Fuuuuck.

It was so inappropriate that I was gushing at the tone of his voice. Why did he seem all the sexier when he was all dominating and intimidating?

"It's nothing, Jasper. Honestly."

It was time to come up with something... What did I always tell Angela when I tried to rationalize my mom's... less than ideal behaviour?

"Ella..." Great. Now he was growling. My knees felt weak and I knew for a fact it had nothing to do with fear I probably should've felt. Oh no. I was all turned on and ready to offer myself up as a snack.

I was so fucking sick in the head.

"I love my mom." Yeah, that sounded way too defensive. I couldn't help it. No matter what my mom did, I would always find a way to defend her actions to other people. Because I needed to be a good daughter. A perfect daughter.

And sometimes my mom thought that required more extreme methods. And who was I to say that she was wrong? I looked amazing! Healthy and thin and toned. Just because the mainstream would frown upon it, it didn't mean she was doing anything wrong... right?

"What is she doing to you? Tell me, my love..."

My palms were sweating. He wouldn't understand. Fuck, even Faye and Angela didn't understand. They couldn't. They weren't under the same _pressure_ as we were. Mom just wanted that someone fell in love with me. I needed to be beautiful for that to happen.

Fat wasn't a good look on me. So I couldn't be fat. No matter what.

"Look, it's not that bad. It's just that sometimes I gain a little bit weight and my mom... she _helps_ me to get rid of it. It's not a big deal. She's not... She would never _hurt_ me."

It sounded so fucking false to my own ears. Jasper scoffed and that told me he wasn't buying it either. But how could I explain it any better? I hated what my mom did, but... it was necessary. It had to be.

Because the alternative was something I couldn't handle.

"Is she drugging you? I will fucking break her body if she's poisoning you, Ella."

"You can't! Jasper, I know you don't understand or you know, approve... but I love her. I need her. She's my _mom_!"

Couldn't Faye hurry it up? My life was falling apart here and I needed to do this. I just had to do this, play nice for a couple of hours and then I could slip away and get shit-faced. Forget all of this for a second... get away from it all.

"Look, can we drop it? Ariel could be back at any moment and she needs to pay for what she did to me." I said, tugging on my arm gently.

Jasper stared at my face. I didn't know what he was looking for, but I recognized that he was trying to read me. My emotions, my words, my face. Something. He was looking for answers and I just hoped he would come to the conclusion that he didn't need to kill my mom.

Priorities. Mine were slightly screwed up. I just really wanted to ruin Ariel's life and I didn't want to try and explain everything to another person. It felt like nobody ever saw it the way I did, and that should probably tell me something.

But love was blind as fuck, and all that.

"Fine... but we will talk about this later on. Really talk about it. I... I _need_ to know everything."

No, he really didn't. Or maybe he did, but he wouldn't want to know everything. It would sound super fucked up and Jasper was slightly overprotective by nature.

Not to compare myself to someone he loved, but he had brutally murdered people who _looked_ at Maria the wrong way. What would he do if he thought someone was actually harming me?

But that was a worry for another time. Jasper released my arm and I went to snoop around to see what was laid on Ariel's vanity. I examined all of her jars and tried to determine which ones she was most likely to lather on her ugly plastic face on her big day.

Hmm... wouldn't it be the best if she felt desperation the first thing in the morning? I picked up her night cream and unscrewed it. Ugh... lavender. How fucking basic. But it worked for me. She would think the product was going bad and she was having a reaction. No need to suspect that her night cream was tampered with.

"Am I right to assume that you're not going to leave me alone?" I asked.

"You're kidding, right? You were almost mutilated by your cousin today. I'm not letting you out of my sight."

Aww, he really did care. So sweet! Alas, I did need him to run a little errand for me.

"The thing is, I'm going to need you to go find some poison ivy for me. You can be all stealthy and supernatural about it, but I need some right now. Ariel's beauty products need some finishing touches."

He growled at me. Now he was just being dramatic. I rolled my eyes and placed my hands on my hips. I realized it wasn't the best time to ask this of him, but it wasn't like I had time to go traipsing in the woods right now. And I didn't want to touch the poison ivy in any case. Jasper was surely fine with touching that stuff. I mean, what would a little plant poison do to his skin?

"Absolutely not. You are a trouble magnet like I've never seen before."

"I'm going to be with Faye. She's got that magical Quileute blood flowing in her veins. She'll be more than capable of keeping me safe."

I mean, I had no idea if Faye got that wolf magic thing going on in her family. Sam Uley was most definitely a wolfy boy, but maybe it was just certain families? Or like, you needed to have the exact genes to activate the wolf powers or something.

But Faye was big and strong. Well, bigger and stronger than I was. And really, it wasn't like picking up some poison ivy was going to take long.

"You have to admit that she could take on Ariel no problem." I continued. Jasper actually cracked a smile at that.

Man, I loved it when I got what I wanted.

Jasper sighed and walked up to me again. He tilted my head up and pressed his face close to mine. Our noses were almost touching. Wowza. I wouldn't mind another mind-blowing kiss, but I had a feeling that wasn't happening right now.

"Five minutes. Do not leave this cabin. If that... _thing_ returns for some reason, you will lock yourself into the bathroom and wait for me to come and get you. Agreed?"

It was so adorable that he pretended to let me have a say in this. It was the thought that counted, right? I grinned and mock-saluted him.

"Aye, aye Captain. Sorry, I meant Major."

He rolled his eyes and ran out of the door. Like, really ran out. Fucking hell he was fast. I blinked dumbly at the empty space that had just hosted Jasper's wonderfully sculpted and warm body. The room felt a bit colder all of a sudden.

I was in this way too deep. Shit was going to hurt when we returned back to the real world. I shook my head and continued to look around.

Faye arrived like two minutes later. Perfect timing.

"Okay, what did you want me to do?" She asked, eyeing me suspiciously.

I smirked and touched Ariel's wedding dress. It was quite beautiful actually. Mermaid dress, of course. Because she was Ariel, the little mermaid. Yuck. The bodice was covered in gems. Swarovski Crystals, if I had to guess. The Reagans were rich, but they were not _diamond_ rich. It was sleeveless and the gems continued down the waist and faded beautifully into the silken hem. The back was open and it had a beautiful lace detail. It was actually something I would've considered wearing. Well, not anymore since the devil's spawn ruined that for me.

I would never be caught dead wearing something that fucking _Ariel_ had worn.

"I was thinking that we should... adjust the fit a little. We wouldn't want it to be loose on Ariel's big day, now would we?"

Faye went all pale in her beautiful face. I was loving it. Wedding dresses were sacred. And Ariel didn't deserve to feel beautiful in hers. And honestly, why would she be stupid enough to keep it in her room where _anyone_ could get their hands on it?

I knew exactly what made Ariel tick. I knew her weaknesses and I was going to exploit every single one of them.

"That's... a little much, isn't it?" Faye said carefully. I snorted. This was nothing. Let's not forget that the bitch had poured hot coffee on me. Tried to disfigure my face. I was just messing with her a little. This was me being merciful.

"She deserves it. Come on, it's just a dress. She'll get over it."

Jasper opened the front door and dangled a mangled green plant between his fingers. Huh. That felt like less than five minutes. He beat his own time. And the way he wrinkled his nose in disgust was fucking adorable. Nothing should be this cute.

"Perfect timing. Get to it, my dear sister-in-law. Just cinch it an inch or two. Now, we need a bowl of some sort and a splash lukewarm water."

Jasper nodded and went to the bathroom. He came back with a plastic cup that had a little bit water in it. This was the man I wanted to have with me every time I was sabotaging someone. He was so fucking efficient. God I loved him.

"Perfect. Just toss that poison ivy in there and we'll grind it up." I said. I looked around for something to use as a mortar. A blush brush. Fucking perfect.

I grabbed the brush, but Jasper plucked it right out of my hand.

"Let me. I don't want any of this accidentally touching you."

Be fucking still my heart. Fuck, he already had my love. He didn't need to continue being so amazing! This was so dangerous to my mental health.

Things happened very quickly with my two minions helping me. Faye did a quick and neat job with the waistline of Ariel's dress. It really was just a couple of invisible stitches. Ariel wouldn't figure out the real reason why her dress was too tight on her. I was going to make sure of that.

I went to the king sized bed that was placed in an alcove, giving it the feel like this cabin had a separate bedroom. I'm not going to lie, I felt a little bit resentful. Our cabin was very pretty and cozy, but we did not have a bed like this or an alcove like that.

I had known the bane of my existance for so long that I unfortunately knew all about her gross nightly rituals. I searched the two bedside tables for Ariel's secret stash. I wrinkled my nose as I found a flask tucked away behind books I knew she wasn't reading. It was all to make sure no cleaning ladies touched her 'miracle elixir'.

Ariel had drank this stuff before going to bed every night of her life. Like, we used to have forced sleepovers, back when we weren't trying to kill eachother and just bickered a ton, and she had always brought the fucking flask with her.

It was nothing special. Stilled water with dried birch leaves and a cinnamon stick. She thought it was fucking magical. It certainly hadn't helped with her doggy face, so I had no idea why she still believed in that bullshit, but it served me perfectly.

I took the flask with me and asked Faye to give me what my mom gave her. Jasper halted his grinding and Faye looked ill at the thought of it.

"I'm not going to cause any permanent damage. It's just a little cleansing. At the most inconvenient time, but it's totally harmless." I said. I wasn't sure if it was to assure Faye that I wasn't putting Ariel through what my mom put me through, or if I said it to convince Jasper that it wasn't that bad.

Faye handed me the small brown bottle that was a source of a lot of my worst memories. That said a lot. I shuddered when I took it, remembering the days I would writhe on the bathroom floor in absolute agony as the _medicine_ rampaged through my body.

… I needed to work out tomorrow if I wanted to avoid having to use that once I was back home. Mom would not be pleased if I gained any significant amount of weight.

"What is that?" Jasper asked. Tread fucking carefully, Ella. Jasper couldn't get all trigger happy again.

"It's abuse in a bottle. Marilyn forces Ella to drink it from time to time. It makes her so violently ill that Brody is scared she's going to die."

That was so dramatic. It was not that bad... Mom would never put me in any real danger. It just felt painful. That's all.

"She doesn't _force_ me. You're being ridiculous. Mom doesn't abuse me."

Except mentally. And I suppose somebody could make the argument that it _looked_ like she physically abused me too. But that wasn't true. It couldn't be.

Mom wouldn't do that to me. She didn't love me, at least I didn't think she did, but that didn't automatically mean that she hated me or anything like that. She was my mom.

"And she manipulates her into thinking this is something she agrees to."

Nope. I refused to believe that. I made my own choices. Most of the time.

Jasper's eyes flashed black. Fucking great. I just hoped Faye was too pissed off to notice. I gave Jasper a hug, hoping that it would distract him.

"It's not like that. I'm fine, Jasper. Everything's fine."

It had to be, because I didn't have the time or the energy to go into this right now. I uncorked the unholy thing in my hand and used the drip in it to get some of the toxic goodness.

"Now, what did mom recommend?" I asked, wrinkling my nose at the thing. It was clear and odorless. The perfect poison really. I usually had to drink a spoonful of it. Not fun.

"Three drops. Any more and you won't be able to attend Ariel's birthday celebration." Faye said with such loathing in her voice that I shivered. Holy fuck! I knew some scary women, but Faye could hold her own.

I was pretty touched that she felt protective over me. But I didn't need it, really. It was one of the many things I had to endure to stay beautiful. I was used to it, more or less.

"Let's make it two. Ariel's body isn't used to this. I don't want to kill her accidentally."

Jasper growled and looked like he was ready to smash the bottle into smithereens. Like just holding the damned thing was enough to harm me. He really knew how to worm his way into my heart...

"It was a joke! Lighten up, people! I'm fine, Ariel will be fine, it's all fine. Let's just make sure she'll have a wedding she'll never forget, okay? Is the plant goo ready?"

I didn't wait for Mr. Grumpy-pants to answer me. I dropped two drops of mommy's special concoction into Ariel's flask and put it back where I found it. Ariel was in for a nasty fucking surprise.

"It's done. What are you using it for?" Jasper eventually said. Yeah, he was so not done with this topic yet. I couldn't wait... and please note the sarcasm.

It was a little trick that I had learned from Sarah, actually. She was way too obsessed with her big brother and did her damnest to keep all girls away from Michael. It was kind of gross, but who was I to judge? I was in love with a 167 year old vampire who had a wife. Not exactly the highest of moral grounds. Anyways, she had discovered a way to sneak a little bit of poison ivy into all sorts of stuff.

The trick was to mush it in water and sprinkle the water into whatever you wanted. And it had to be just luke warm so nothing happened to the poisonous part of the plant. Sarah had no idea what boiling water would do to the potency of it, so she didn't want to risk it. The reaction wasn't as severe as with direct contact with poison ivy, but whoa boy it did the trick.

Madison Smith could testify to that. We didn't talk to her anymore. The poor, stupid girl had tried to befriend Sarah just to get close to Michael. Sarah didn't take it well. Yeah, Madison was the school pariah now. Just desserts in my opinion, but that was just me.

I poured just the tiniest bit of the toxic water into Ariel's night cream and then I used a Q-tip to mix it all together. Ariel's face would be all blotchy and itchy as fuck tomorrow. It was sweet, sweet justice.

There was just one more thing to do here. I looked at Jasper and Faye with a grin on my face.

"Do either of you know how to rig a scale?"

Faye let out a horrified gasp. It was almost like she knew what the girls in my family had to deal with. I was pretty fucking sure that Ariel was just as obsessed with her outer appearance that I was, so this would destroy her.

Ariel Reagan had three major soft targets. Number one was her looks. She had always been so insecure about the way her face looked like. For a good reason, because the bitch had been ugly. More on the inside than on the outside, but that rotten soul just shined right through. Add her doggish features to that mix and my nemesis had a complex that rivalled my own.

Tomorrow, she would have to be at the altar with rash all over her face, weak from puking her guts out and shitting blood, her dress too tight for her frame and her scale showing that she had gained weight.

She was going to feel so fucking horrible and the mere thought of her tear-stained face felt glorious!

Jasper sighed, letting the subject of my mom's little brown bottle slide for now, and took his phone into his hand.

"I'll call Rosalie. She should know how to do that."

* * *

Author's Final Notes:

Let's make this short and sweet. I was supposed to post this chapter a couple of days ago, but I just ended up writing more and more and more... so this is chapter is now officially split into two parts. I'll make the wise decision and say nothing about when the second part will be posted. It's a surprise... :D

I could say all sorts of stuff about the next chapter, but I'm just going to say that this is the beginning of Ella's armour cracking. Her unravelling has started, as the title suggest. The storm is brewing and I'm not sure that even her personal superhero will be able to keep her grounded.

On that pleasant note, I wish you all a great week. Thanks for continuing to support my story even when I don't post anything for days. I hope this was a satisfactory update to Ella's story.

ps, they kissed again. And it took more than 40 000 words. Is it any wonder that I need to split chapters like this when it takes me so-many-words to just get these two smooching? ;)


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17: The Great Unravelling, part 2**

* * *

Ew. It looked like Justin's side of the family had finally arrived to join us on this horrible occasion. I knew some of the faces relatively well, thanks to the long history we shared. I could pick up Justin's immediate family pretty easily. His mother was gossiping about something with aunt Hannah. Probably wedding related and probably boring as fuck.

Justin's dad was at the bar, as per usual. The man liked his drink, which was funny because he was super religious. Like, full on conservative 'lock the women away so they don't tempt the poor men' religious. If I remembered correctly, he came from a family of priests.

The man of the hour himself was chatting up two guys I had never seen before. They looked all chummy with each other, so chances were that these dudes were the only friends Justin had left. Poor guy. Or they could've been related for all I knew. It wasn't like I had the pleasure of being around Justin's family too often.

"So... what do you think, 20 minutes and then we can bail?" I asked quietly, leaning into Jasper's body. He was still so wonderfully warm and it really helped to keep my beautiful self warm.

I was going all out with my outfit. Dressed to kill. I had been debating whether to wear a fancy dress or something more casual, but as I looked around I was happy that I chose the dark blue coctail dress. It wasn't the most practical thing to wear for a spring night, but I could endure it for a hot second until I could change out of it. And I had a vampire who kept me all snuggly and warm so it was all good.

"Uh... shouldn't we stay at least an hour or two? Someone will notice that we're missing."

Well duh. Everyone would notice. Nobody would care. My relatives liked me as much as I liked them. It was a beautiful hate-hate relationship. It worked out great.

"Do you seriously want to listen that witch droning on and on about her fucking house project for two hours?" I raised my eyebrow. Because I knew that was all the dumb bitch was capable of talking about. That and her _wonderful_ wedding to the man of her dreams.

It was a good thing that she didn't aim any higher even in her dreams.

Jasper looked horrified at the thought of hearing the same fucking story again. Yeah, I could relate. It was entirely possible that I would scratch Ariel's eyes out if I had to hear about their future house one more time.

I looked on the other side of the room where Brody was necking on Faye. The girl was going to have a hickey the size of a baseball when he was done with her. It was so fucking gross!

And I was in no way jealous that my neck had a little bit different kind of bruises. No sir. It wasn't like it would feel amazingly orgasmic to have Jasper nibble on my neck. Psh, who would want something like that?

I tried to get Brody's attention, but it was pointless. He was in his own Faye-land. I just needed to know if he had managed to secure the booze yet. I was not going through tonight sober. I had too much shit running circles in my mind. I needed a fucking time out from all of it.

"Is that what having a mate is like? Because you aren't all over Alice like that at school." I had to be a fucking masochist. Why on earth did I start talking about the 'mate' thing? Did I enjoy the pain his words would bring me? What the fuck was wrong with me?

"I think it's safe to say that nobody is quite as... enthusiastic about their show of love as Brody is." He said with a slight grin.

Was it too much to ask that his words kind of implied that things weren't that heated in the bedroom between Jasper and Alice? And was I a completely horrible bitch for hoping that to be the case?

"I just hope he got the goods before he went all gaga over Faye again. We need to decide when we're going to the beach."

It had been decided that it was too risky for us to get shit-faced in the game room. We could get super loud and I wasn't planning on getting caught. Besides, I had promised Jasper that midnight swim and my bikini was just waiting for me to go put it on.

I was sure Jasper was going to appreciate it. I mean, I would probably freeze to death, but I would look absolutely fabulous doing that. Priorities.

"Oh that. Brody texted me when you were in the shower. We'll meet up at 8 pm."

Hit the fucking breaks! Since when did Brody have Jasper's number? Should I be worried? I was worried. How long had they been texting? And what the hell did they talk about? It had better be about fucking sports or something like that. If I found out that Brody was trying to embarrass me...

Fuck, who was I trying to fool? Of course that sweaty toad was trying to embarrass me. It was his sacred duty as my stinky older brother.

"Great. That's still an hour and a half away. We get to enjoy my wonderful relatives for that much longer. Oh joy..." I whined. It was horrible. Just how much would I have to endure to simply get drunk? It was inhumane!

Jasper had better be ready to dance the fucking night away. He would have to do his very best to distract me from the vultures surrounding us. Especially now that they had multiplied and I was damn sure Ariel had shit-talked me to hell and back.

"It's not so bad. The dinner alone will take over an hour. I'm sure we can endure your family a little longer."

Bitch please. This was our third dinner with these people and none of them had been all that pleasant. I didn't enjoy spending my time with people who wanted to see me fail at everything. It just wasn't my idea of fun time.

Oh, happy day! There was my mother glaring at me from across the room. What the fuck had I done now? I was looking fine, I had _the_ hottest date on my arm and she was even under the impression that I had been a dutiful daughter and puked my guts out before the party.

Maybe she was just salty because of those scratches on her face. Aunt Gloria got her good. Of course, if mom had visible marks on her then it was more than likely that aunt Gloria should be in the hospital recovering from her internal wounds. My mom didn't fuck around.

"On a scale of one to 'I'm going to die painfully', how angry is my mom?" I asked quietly. I would feel a lot better if I knew how to prepare. Mom was clearly looking to lash out at someone. And the victim was so going to be me. What else was new in my life?

"Why would she be angry at you? I mean, she's seething but I don't understand why you would be the target of her anger."

Dear fucking god. Brody better have enough booze to keep an entire fucking frat house hydrated. This was going to suuuuuuck.

"I don't know. Because my hair is down instead of being up? My lipstick is the wrong colour? Because she can rip into me without consequences? Take you pick there, buddy."

Jasper chuckled darkly and pulled me closer to his body. Protection mode had apparently been activated. Not that I was complaining. I felt confident that I had a good handle on stopping him from murdering everyone. It might've been my arrogance talking, but I was going to accept that as a fact.

It wouldn't end well if I started to doubt myself and chickened out. Orange was so not my colour so jail was so out of the question. Did teenagers even wear prison uniforms? I didn't know. I wasn't taking any chances, though.

"No consequences? I'm afraid there would be some dire consequences for her..."

Aww, his concern was so cute! There really was nothing quite like having the love of your life promising to murder on your behalf. Maybe I should also offer to kill people for him? Provide him with people to eat like a proper girlfriend should. I mean, they did say that he way to a man's heart was through his stomach. Now there was a thought...

"Honestly, I don't know which one of you would come out on top. Mom might actually be the devil. Admit it, you're scared of her too." I nudged his ribs with my elbow. He didn't react in any way, which was a bummer. It would be useful to know if he was ticklish.

"Absolutely terrified."

That was so believable.

000

Family dinners were just so fucking lovely. Thanks to Ariel's mission to make my life living hell, we were stuck with my parents, aunt Gloria and Granny May all night long. Just next to the table where Ariel had placed her plastic ass. Could this night get any worse?

"We really haven't had the pleasure of getting to know you Jasper. Ella has been hogging you all to herself." Aunt Gloria purred out. I swear she was licking her lips. I felt sick. It was so wrong on so many levels!

"I do believe that might be my fault, ma'am. I'm rather fond of Ella's company..." Jasper gave his most charming smile to the cougar of the family. Yuck. I would end my life before I ever got to that point in life.

Mom hummed into her champagne. She was way too much of a lady to snort, so she did this weird humming thing whenever she wanted to portray sarcastic amusement. It was so nice to have such a supporting mother.

Jasper gave her a quick side glare, but she either ignored it or didn't even notice it.

"This weekend is about being around family. I think Ella should be making a little more effort in that regard." Mom said. I shivered. The Snow Queen had appeared.

She was really itching to tear into me. Normally she would never talk like this around our relatives. How many glasses of champagne had she had? Dad wasn't giving her the stink eye yet, so it couldn't be too much.

Then again, he was nursing his whisky in brooding silence, so maybe they both were too far gone. A fucking kingdom for the chance to join them in that state as soon as possible...

"We're together all the time..." I started to whine, but then dad decided to turn his pale eyes at me. Fuuuck...

"...and it's been lovely! Absolutely wonderful." I said quickly. Jasper rubbed my forearm comfortingly. It helped... a little.

"Tell me, Jasper... how did our _Ella_ managed to catch... someone like _you_?" Aunt Gloria asked. Her eyes were gleaming with her inner hell fire. I swear I was related to actual demons.

I tried my best to shrug off the stinging comment and bit my lip. Would Jasper remember our faked backstory?

"I moved to Forks a little while ago with my family. Ella's breath-taking beauty captured my interest at the first sight, but it wasn't until a little later that I had the chance to introduce myself. I was asked to help her with a history assignment and I gladly agreed. I was looking for an excuse to talk to her and working on a paper provided the perfect cover." He was all smiling and relaxed. I wished I could be the same way, but being around people who hated me for extended periods of time always made me feel on the edge. I wonder why...

Mom hummed again. What the fuck was her problem? This was all her fantasy to begin with! She was the one who had said that happened.

"Yes, I suppose that makes sense. Our Ella is... pretty. And she's always had a little bit of trouble in school. It's very... charitable of you to attempt tutoring her." Granny May piped in.

Ice daggers right into my fucking soul. I wrapped my arms around myself and tried to hold it together. I couldn't react to the obvious bait. It would just prove what they all thought about me. A simpleton with passable looks.

The problem was that I wasn't 100% convinced they were wrong...

"Ella is actually very bright. I don't like what you're insinuating, ma'am." And the growls were back, going straight to my groin. Granny May flinched ever so slightly. It gave me more satisfaction than anything else in this world.

"I wish her grades would support that claim..." Dad chose this particular moment to open his mouth. And it fucking cut deeply. Fuck it all.

Deep breaths. There was no point in breaking down here. Nobody would care. So there really was no point in giving them the fucking satisfaction. I gritted my teeth and placed a hand on Jasper's leg. It was mostly for calming him down, but I was totally copping a feel.

I deserved a little joy in my life, after all.

"I'm sure they will." Jasper said calmly. If I didn't spend unhealthy amount of time looking at his eyes, I would be sure he wasn't affected in the slightest. But his eyes... whoo they were screaming his real feelings.

I knew he wanted to say something. And he actually thought he wasn't a knight in shining armour. Me and my constantly rescued feelings would beg to differ. He was doing a pretty good job of keeping me safe and sane... well, relatively sane. Sometimes.

"Should you be eating that, darling? I heard you had an upset stomach earlier." Mom said sweetly. Holy fuck, her eyes were on fire! Marilyn Johnson was a demon. It was confirmed. There was nothing natural about the way her eyes were practically burning me alive.

Did someone pee in her cereal or something? I shrunk into myself even more and tried to think about happy thoughts. Like how horrible Ariel was going to feel soon enough. It was calming.

I looked down at my half-eaten plate of chewy salmon. It had no flavor whatsoever. It wouldn't be the biggest loss to leave it at that. I probably should've eaten the entire thing, but there was just something very special about the presence of my parents that made me feel nauseous.

"You're probably right. I feel fine now, but I really shouldn't risk it. I wouldn't want to miss dear Ariel's big moment tomorrow." I said. Because what else could I say? I would be literally dead girl walking if I defied my mom and dad in front of our relatives. I mean, Jasper was an excellent buffer between us but eventually he would leave my side and then I would be a goner.

My parents shifted their focus on kissing Granny May's ass. Thank god. I was more than happy to let the old bat have all the attention. My self esteem could only take certain amounts of abuse.

"How are you holding up?" Jasper asked once we were left alone. I relaxed my body to the best of my ability. I was getting way too wound up and that never ended well for me. Angela called it self-destructing.

And people said I was the dramatic one. Psh.

"I'm good. It's all good. I'm used to it."

I wasn't sure who I was trying to convince. I mean, in some ways I was used to it since it happened like every fucking time, but how do you get used to shit being thrown at you?

Jasper rubbed the back of my neck. That helped. He should just massage me all day every day and I would be juuuust fine. Better than fine, even.

I caught Lydia from the corner of my eye. I turned my head slightly towards her. She was signaling me to follow her. Great. My shitty evening was about to get infinitely shittier. Well... it was better to just get it out of the way. Like, what was one more relative putting me down at this point?

"I need to go to the bathroom. It'll be just a sec." I told Jasper and started to get up. He grabbed my hand and looked at me questioningly.

Okay, I was not lying. Not really. I really did need to go to the bathroom. It would be the most private place to deal with Lydia. Neither one of us wanted or needed an audience. We were on thin enough ice without giving the hyenas any more ammo to use against us. Small fucking mercies.

"Relax, Jasper. I'll be right back. Don't kill anyone without me." I said softly and dropped a sneaky little kiss on the corner of his mouth. That should give him something to think about. You know, other than worry about me.

Because sometimes a girl just needed to fight her own battles... until she had to run right back to her big and strong protector. But it was the thought that counted, right?

I followed Lydia to the women's bathroom. There were two people hanging around the sink. Probably waiting for someone else who was still in the bathroom. I made myself comfortable at the mirror and started fixing my hair. It was never a bad time to make sure you looked good. Not even when you were about to be brutally murdered by your kind-of ally.

You would think that I would've been intimidated by Lydia. She was prettier than me, probably. It was hard to tell since we looked so different. Mom certainly thought that she was prettier than me. Lydia was tall and willowy. She kept her black hair short and it suited her facial structure so well. She was almost always sporting a healthy tan and her smile lit up the room. And she had a straight nose.

I don't know why I never resented her for her looks. Maybe because she was already 25 years old and had been married by the time I hit puberty. And she was the other black sheep of the family.

The other occupants of the bathroom disappeared and Lydia turned her eyes on me. Yikes. She was pissed as fuck. It was incredible how well the women in my family could hide their feelings behind their masks.

Bring on the hate, dear cousin. I kind of maybe deserved it... just a little bit.

"Why did you do it?" She asked. Seething. I thought about how I wanted to deal with this. The big, overwhelmingly loud and obnoxious Johnson part of me wanted to go full-on offensive and not show any remorse whatsoever. Some tiny part of me, like common sense or something like that, wanted me to just own up to my deeds and apologize.

Guess which part of me won that debate...

"Ariel made a scene in front of Granny May." I said. I stood up straight, cocking my hip and looking up at Lydia. No backing down. Goddamn I was going to regret bad that I was all about that instant gratification.

"I don't care what Ariel did. Why did you decide to drag me into your shit?"

That raised my hackles. I so did not appreciate her attitude. It wasn't even that big of a deal. Nobody was talking about her fake affair with Justin anymore. Ariel was way too busy harassing me to give two shits about Lydia so what the fuck was the problem here?

"Calm your tits. It's not a big deal." Okay, so maybe that wasn't the correct thing to say, but fuck if I cared. We were being bitchy here.

Like I said, I make stupid decisions.

"Not a big deal? I have been trying to clear my new title as a man-eater the entire day. Do you have any idea what would've happened if Nahid heard the rumours?"

I rolled my eyes. As if Nahid would ever believe anything he heard from our relatives. He was pretty fucking open about his dislike for us all. And it wasn't like he hadn't heard the rumours before.

"You would've done the same." It was the truth. Lydia was my token tolerable relative. But she was still part of this family and we were all fucked up and ready to throw anyone under the bus if the situation called for it. And it had fucking called for it!

Lydia's eyes flashed. Whoops. Maybe I shouldn't have said that.

"We're not talking about what I would or would not have done in a similar situation. We're talking about the fact that _you did_ do it. And it was wrong."

Apologize. Just put your big girl panties on and apologize. It'll only hurt once. Do it, Ella...

"Well duh. Doesn't change the fact that you would've done the exact same thing. You can get off your high horse, Lydia. I didn't even say anything about you. Ariel made up her own mind."

Goddamnit. I was so fucking stupid. Me and my idiotic Johnson pride. Why did I have to get all bitchy and angry so easily? I was seriously willing to sacrifice the only ally I had in this fucking family. And for what?

"Me? You're the one who thinks you're better than anyone else! I hate to burst your bubble, but you're not. You may be prettier than Ariel, but you're just as ugly and disgusting on the inside." Lydia hissed out.

Fucking hell. I flinched like I had been burned. I just stared at Lydia blankly. Why would she say that? I was _nothing_ like that demon! How dared she? What gave her the fucking _right_ to speak to me that way?

Uh-huh. Nope. This was not going to end with me crying in a bathroom stall. Hell no. I gathered up all of my rage that was simmering just beneath the surface. Lydia's insecurities... what did I know about them? I had never studied her like I had with my more hated relatives.

But I knew that there was one glaring insecurity. And I was going to fucking use it. Lydia had done something unforgivable, so I was going to return the fucking favor.

"Yeah, well... At least my boyfriend isn't risking his life on the other side of the world just so he could get away from me. I wonder what that says about you, though." I said. Calmly.

I could see the change in her demeanor. Her shoulders hunched up and she took an involuntary step back, folding her body into itself. I could read all the hurt and doubt in her eyes. I smiled a little. Yeah, I had won. Like a true fucking Johnson.

I hoped my parents were proud of the monster they had created.

I didn't get any satisfaction from hurting Lydia like that. I mean, the instant gratification of winning a fight was there, but it wasn't something I would replay in my mind over and over again. Not like I was going to when I finally took down Ariel.

Lydia kept quiet, dropping her eyes to the ground and hugging herself. I turned my back to her and walked right out of the bathroom. I couldn't deal with this shit right now. Or ever.

Ignore it. Don't let her words get to you. Don't think about what you said. Don't wish you could undo it. None of that would help me in any way. It would only serve to make me even more miserable than I already was.

And since misery really loved company, I would claim a new victim for my attitude problem.

There was a loud clicking of heels coming from behind me and I was suddenly yanked backwards. Fucking hell, I nearly fell down!

"No! You do not get to walk away from me like that!" Lydia shrieked. So fucking loudly that my right ear started ringing. She was digging her nails into my arm. What was it with people trying to bruise me this month?!

Lydia was fucking seething. She looked like a crazy person. Had she ripped out her hair? It was pointing in all sorts of directions and it had not looked like that just seconds ago. Lydia was all red and her face was twisted into something really ugly by her rage.

"We are done, Lydia. Let's go hit the dance floor." I kept my voice steady. We were out in the open and I did not need her to make a scene right then. The vultures were watching.

I could almost feel Jasper's eyes in the back of my neck and it made me feel calm. Lydia couldn't physically hurt me without Jasper stepping in to save me. She could wreck me mentally apart, but I was all sorts of fucked up already so there wasn't that much more damage she could do. Hopefully.

"You are a bitch, Ella! You are just a miserable failure who will never find love and acceptance!"

Ignore it... don't let her get to you. Don't you fucking let her in, Ella.

"That's enough, Lydia." Brody said from behind me. Well... call me surprised. I was being damselled by multiple guys tonight. Brody threw his massive arm around my shoulders and almost knocked me off balance with his body weight. Why was my brother so fucking huge?

"It's not! You didn't hear what she said. She needs to be put down!"

Yikes. Did Lydia want to deal with me like I was a rabid dog? She was insane.

"Cuz, she's 15 years old. She's a child. You are an adult. You should know better."

Umm, could we not talk about me like I was an infant? Ok thanks. And I would like to point out that I was _almost_ 16 years old and about to get hammered so I would appreciate it if people didn't call me a child.

Not to mention all the dirty things this _child_ wanted to do with one Major Whitlock. Yeah, definitely NOT a child here!

Lydia looked like she had been slapped in the face. Fucking served her right. Nobody was allowed to compare me to _Ariel Fucking Reagan_ without consequnces. She looked around us, her crazed eyes turning more panicky than anything. Yeah bitch, we were surrounded by people who could fucking smell weakness.

"But..." She said, desperately. Brody pulled me away from Lydia's grabby paws. Look at him doing the big brother thing! He really did have his moments.

"Nah, my sister was very clear. We're done, Lydia. Let's not ruin our dear cousin's birthday party."

Brody led me away from her and the intruding eyes. Faye and Jasper were huddled in a corner, glaring daggers at someone behind me. Probably Lydia.

"Can we get shit-faced now?" I asked in a small voice. I looked up at Brody with my best puppy dog eyes. He was looking serious as fuck. I really liked Brody when he was being a good brother. But I would never admit that out loud. Eww.

He forced a silly grin on his face and nodded.

"Sure thing, lil sis. Let's get hammered."

000

I walked to the beach with Faye in my arm. Or rather, I was in Faye's arm. She was galliantly escorting me from my cabin. A change of clothes had been necessary and the boys had said they needed to set some stuff up.

"Did you see what he got?" I asked. It didn't really matter what Brody had managed to steal as I was getting drunk anyway, but it would be nice to know.

"I wasn't there. I think Brody said something about vodka, but I'm not sure what he actually grabbed." Faye said, wrinkling her cute nose in distain.

So she still wasn't on board with the under-age drinking that was going to happen. I could respect that. She wasn't stopping me or Brody, so it was all good. Perks of her sticking around long enough to know how fucked up our life was.

"I hope the guys brought OJ with them if there's vodka on the table. That shit is nasty on its own."

To be fair, it was disgusting even with the orange juice, but it made it drinkable. If you pinched your nose and gulped it down quickly, that is. I was more of a tequila girl myself. Not that I really liked any hard stuff, but still...

We followed the stone steps all the way down to the wet sand. There was a little nook at the very edge of the beach that was out of sight from the cabins. It wasn't until you got down the steps that you could see the soft glow of a bonfire.

I grinned. Yeah, we would be well-hidden from adult supervision. I mean, Jasper could technically be called adult. So we really weren't doing anything bad...

"Oh my god! This is amazing!" I gasped out, taking in the sight. The boys had really outdone themselves.

The bonfire was looking so fucking inviting and cozy. I didn't know if they had been there originally, but there were tree logs surrounding the fire pit. The guys had pitched a handful of torches around the area. I squinted at them in the dark evening and I was pretty sure they were scrambled together by my idiot brother and Jasper. They weren't exactly tiki torches, but I thought they looked pretty fucking nice.

There was a pile of blankets placed on top of one of the tree logs and next to it was a blue cooler. Hell, they even had stolen a boombox from somewhere!

"Glad that you like it, lil' darling. You look adorably bundled up." Jasper said as a greeting and wrapped his arm around my shoulders. I snuggled into his side and hooked my arm around his waist.

"It's beautiful. You know, in that do-it-yourself kind of way. I assume Brody did most of the work?" I asked with a slightly teasing smile.

Jasper laughed and nodded his head. Well, that explained so much. I didn't know how good Jasper was at interior design but I was guessing a whole lot better than Brody.

Jasper guided me to one of the logs. He placed a blanket on top of it and then pushed my shoulders gently so I would sit down. He then draped another blanket around me before sitting down next to me and pulling me tightly against him.

Yeah, I had a pretty good feeling that I wouldn't be cold tonight. He was being so cute!

"Will you rub my nose too so it won't get cold?"

Okay, so it was meant to be a little more teasing and a little less like I was flirting with him. Whoopsie. I just couldn't help myself around him.

"Well... if that is milady's wish..." Jasper said with that devious smirk of his and reached up to rub soft circles all around my nose. The fucking butterflies in my stomach... whoo, this night was bound to be interesting...

"Okay, seriously. What is going on between you two?" Faye asked, taking a can of sprite that Brody offered her. How rude of her. Did she have to draw attention to us? I swear if Jasper pulled away, Faye would be in for a nasty life as my in-law...

I looked up at Jasper again. Let him explain this. Wait... did I actually want to hear his take on our relationship? Fuck... maybe it would be better if he said nothing at all. I was not in the right head space to deal with his inevitable rejection right now.

"No! I'm not taking part in this sober. What can I get you, my poor and disfigured little sister?" Brody interrupted with his disgusting behavior. Ugh... how the fuck were we related?

I guess I should be grateful for him running interference... but did he have to be such a dick about it?

"Anything that gets me fucked up real quick. Also, you're an asshole."

Brody stuck out his tongue and handed me a clear glass bottle with orange liquid inside of it. I uncorked it and took a sniff.

Yup. It would be a night of vodka and OJ. I was going to be fucking wrecked in the morning...

I pinched my nostrils and took a big gulp of the nasty stuff. It burned my throat as it went down. I fought back the urge to pull a face and shudder at the aftertaste. Fucking YUCK.

"You don't like it?" Jasper asked, taking a sip of his beer. I looked at him suspiciously. How was he able to look so relaxed drinking that? Was alcohol somehow different than other human things?

"I would say that I'm liking mine way more than you're liking yours, but either you have a super good poker face or that shit doesn't taste bad to you."

Jasper's eyes flickered to see what Brody and Faye were up to. I followed his gaze. They were doing their own things. Brody was fiddling with the boombox and Faye was on her phone. Probably texting Leah or the other girls in their team. We were clear to have a private conversation.

"I don't mind the taste of beer. It's almost... nostalgic to me. It reminds me of home."

"You mean Texas? Like, the old Texas?" I asked and drank from my bottle again. Shit, Brody had made it strooooong.

Jasper nodded. His eyes seemed to light up and I couldn't help but to smile. He clearly loved his old home. I wondered what made him leave it in the first place. I mean, I understood why he left Maria's army, but why leave the South altogether?

"Do you miss it?" The words tumbled out of my mouth. I took a hold of his free hand and squeezed it. I liked Jasper's hands. Especially when they were so warm.

"Yeah. I miss it something terrible alright. But my life is here now..."

Okay, this sounded like something we should discuss at a better time. Like what the fuck? He sounded so fucking miserable when he said that. Did Alice say 'no' to living in the place Jasper so clearly loved? Wait... didn't Jasper say that Peter and Charlotte lived in Texas? Wouldn't that be the fucking perfect place for them to live too?

If Jasper and Peter were even a fraction as close as Angela and I... Hell, I could never live across the fucking country from her. I would literally go insane and die.

"You know, Angela has a lot of books. And a lot of those books are about healthy relationships. No relationship can be healthy if the people in it aren't equals."

Good going, Ella. Why don't you stick your fucking crooked nose into other people's business even more?! Goddamn!

Jasper gave me a long look. Was he angry? He didn't look angry, but really... how well could I read him? What if he hated me?

"Please just ignore me. I'm an idiot. It's none of my... I'm sorry, okay?"

I couldn't do anything right. Fuck!

"You're not an idiot, Ella. You are a very insightful and opinionated young woman. You have nothing to be sorry for."

He spoke very gently. I was not sure if he actually meant it or if he was trying to make me feel better. Ah well, I wasn't going to dwell on it. Jasper would tell me when I crossed a line. I hoped.

The loud sound of electric guitar and bass drum interrupted my little pity party. Brody whooped happily and Jasper raised his bottle to him in salute. Great...

"Are we seriously going to listen to rock all night long?" I whined. It wasn't exactly my scene.

"Shut up, you hairless ape! This is the shit!" Brody defended his shitty taste in music. Jasper nodded enthusiastically in agreement. I rolled my eyes. Of course they had to bond over music.

"Yeah, it's shit for sure. How am I supposed to shake my ass to this music?"

"GROSS! Can you not talk about your disgusting girl parts?"

"Hey! You're more than fine with Faye's girl parts! Newsflash, she has the same parts that I do!"

"LALALALALALA I can't hear yooooou..." Brody stuck his fingers into his ears and waggled his tongue like an idiot.

I shook my head and took another big gulp of the nasty drink in my hand. The things I did to get a moment's rest from my shitty life... Fuck, I was even willing to spend my evening with my stupid brother!

"Besides..." I said and snuggled closer to Jasper. He turned his body slightly, probably trying to see what I was doing. I couldn't tell for sure because I was giving Brody the biggest shit-eating grin I could manage.

"Jasper thinks my girl parts are _very_ nice."

Brody shuddered and made a whole show about dry-heaving and clutching his stomach. He was such a drama queen. He got that from our mom. I really didn't understand why people said I was the dramatic one.

Jasper choked on his beer.

Let me say that again: Jasper Whitlock, the badass leader of a vampire army, choked on his beer! Just because I said that he appreciated my girl parts. I let out a giggle. This was fucking hilarious!

Surprising vampires had to be my new favorite past time!

"You okay there, buddy?" I asked while trying to get my hysterical giggles and unlady-like snorts under control. I had to be so fucking red in the face by now.

"Dude! What is going on between you and my sister? Wait... no, I don't want to know. Alcohol... I need more alcohol." Brody just had to make himself noticed again.

I rolled my eyes and focused on enjoying Jasper's warmth and the burning sensation in my belly. Yeah, eating properly would've been the wise decision. My thighs were getting a little tingly and sadly, it wasn't because of the hunky vampire with his arm around me.

 _You may be prettier than Ariel, but you're just as ugly and disgusting on the inside..._

I physically flinched. Fuck no. I was not going to think about this shit! Nope... no way. I just needed to get a nice buzz going and everything would be okay.

Brody was right for once. More booze was definitely the right answer.

"Brody, no! You know the rules when you drink." Faye said with a frown on her pretty face. Brody pouted and withdrew his arm that had been about to wrap around Faye's waist. I snickered at my brother's misfortune.

Faye never allowed my brother to get handsy with her while he was under the influence of something. She didn't like it and she didn't want him to get frisky with her while he was like that. I could respect her decision.

But it was still funny to see Brody suffer.

"Tough luck, my friend." Jasper said with a smirk. Oooh, he was being sassy! I liked it. Very much.

"That hurts, Jazz-hands. It really does."

Ugh... Jazz-hands? Seriously? Talk about a horrible nickname. I really hoped that wasn't going to stick around. Major suited him so much better.

I shrugged off the blanket on my shoulders. It was too hot. I was wearing Jasper's hoody and his leather jacket. I was all nice and toasty with them on, even though I didn't have anything but my bikini top under them.

 _You're just as ugly and disgusting on the inside._

Shit. I didn't need this right now! I could deal with it all after the fucking wedding. Not now. Not here. Not when I was having a good time!

I stood up, taking a hold of Jasper's hand and pulling him up with me. Or rather, I tugged at his hand and he very kindly lifted his cute ass off of the log. I grinned up at him and hugged his arm. I almost lost my bottle, but I managed to grip it tightly enough before it slipped past my fingers.

"Let's walk. I've seen Brody's ugly face enough for one day." I said and stuck out my tongue to my stupid brother who gasped like he was insulted. Pfft, yeah like he cared. Nobody believed his dramatics.

"Sure thing, lil' darling." Jasper said warmly and let me lead him away from the bonfire.

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do!" Brody yelled after us. I scoffed. Like, what would that be exactly? Brody had done more stupid shit in his life than I'd ever be able to do... and I was the dumb one in the family. Although I resented the fact that Brody was considered to be any more intelligent. He was dumb as a rock.

We walked along the coastline. Slowly. Veeeery slowly. The beach wasn't big on any stretch of imagination so if we walked at a normal pace, we'd be on the other side of it in like two minutes.

"Hey... are you sure I didn't cross any lines? I know that it's none of my business and I want you to know that it's okay to tell me off if I say something incredibly stupid." I asked after a moment of silence. Jasper sighed and stopped walking. He turned to face me and bent down so our faces were deliciously close together.

I was all for some moonlight kissing. But you know, I could read the situation. Smooching wasn't at the top of his mind at the moment. I was going to do my fucking hardest to make it Jasper's priority, but sometimes sex on the beach had to wait.

It was all about that communication.

"You have been very respectful of my relationship with Alice. I can feel your disapproval, so I know that you are trying your hardest to keep your real thoughts to yourself. I appreciate that. Although I am curious as to why you seem to dislike Alice so much..."

Fuck. Was it too late to just take back my conversation starter? Fucking yikes. I bit the inside of my cheek, trying to decide how much I wanted to tell him. I didn't necessarily want to make him hate Alice. Maybe. I didn't know. If she made him happy, then I had to learn how to let it go.

But I was a selfish bitch. I wanted Jasper to leave his wife and sweep me off my feet. Carry me into the fucking sunset and fuck my brains out in the process.

"I just... I don't like it when you're unhappy."

Yeah. Let's just keep it simple. No need to go into details about my less than flattering thoughts about Alice Cullen. Or was it Whitlock? Had she taken Jasper's name? It didn't sound nice.

It might've been just me, but I thought Ella Whitlock sounded much better... Or Ella Hale to the general public.

Alice Whitlock? Alice Hale? It didn't have the same ring to it.

"Why do you think I'm unhappy with Alice?" He asked. All sincere and willing to listen to me. Goddamn he made it hard to keep my distance. Did I even want to keep my distance? The obvious answer was 'fuck no', but that would maybe change after the wedding.

"Umm... do you want my honest opinion? Like, really? Because I don't think you'll like it." Yeah, I was buying some time for myself. Maybe Jasper wanted to drop it. That way we could go back to eye-fucking each other.

"Yes, Ella. I would always prefer you to be honest with me."

Fuck... I wanted him to add _because I love you_ after that sentence so fucking badly. I was so biased. This was going to ruin everything...

 _You are just a miserable failure who will never find love and acceptance_

Great. Just what this moment needed... me getting all fucking caught up with Lydia's words... I mentally slapped myself. I could deal with it later. Or never. That worked for me.

"I think that Alice is the reason why you hate yourself so much. It's like she has been telling you how horrible you are for so long that you've started to believe it. Trust me, I _know_ what it's like to have someone you love tell you how you're not good enough day after day..."

Jasper drew back from me. I fucking knew this was going to happen. I pressed my lips together and stubbornly looked up into his eyes. They were completely closed off from me, but I wouldn't back down. I had ruined everything already, so might as well see this entire thing through.

I did take a long gulp of my drink, though. Liquid courage, baby. Worked every time.

"Tell me something, Jasper... when was the last time you saw Peter and Charlotte?"

Something had been bugging the shit out of me for a while and I was just nosy and self-destructive enough to want to dig it out. God, I hoped I still had a date left when I woke up...

"At least 20 years... but how is it relevant to this conversation?"

I looked at him sadly. He really couldn't see it. Was I really going to burst his perfect image of Alice? I wasn't even sure what my motives were. Did I want what was best for Jasper? Or did I just want to drive a wedge between them in a desperate attempt to do just what my mother ordered and steal Jasper for myself?

I hated that I couldn't be entirely sure about that. I wanted to say without a doubt that I was saying these things because I really loved Jasper and I thought he was being mistreated by his wife...

But I was a fucking monster created by my mom. I always obeyed with her whims, whether I wanted to or not. I wanted to make her love me more than anything in the world. If I was the good girl who got the _perfect_ boyfriend, then maybe... maybe she'd finally approve of me.

"Is it because Alice doesn't want you to be around them? Because they are _bad_ in her eyes for eating humans? Or because of the things they did while they were in Maria's army?"

Jasper flinched like I had slapped him. I wanted to cry. How the fuck could someone do something like that to a person they claimed to love? I didn't understand it. And I didn't know if I was any better than Alice. Was it really any of my business?

I gritted my teeth. Fuck yes, it was my business! I loved Jasper Whitlock and I was NOT going to stand down while some pointy-haired fang princess messed with my man!

Errr... the man that I loved. Jasper wasn't mine. I should remember that more often.

"So I'm right? Jasper, that's not what a good relationship looks like. Now, this is just my very fucking biased opinion, but it feels like she's isolating you from your family and tearing your real self down little by little. She's trying to build a _perfect_ Jasper like you're some sort of doll for her to play with. I don't like it. I want you to be happy... because like, I really love you."

Perfect... I fucking hated that word. I needed more alcohol.

"I... never thought about it like that." Jasper said. He was clearly struggling with his words. I was pretty sure that he wanted to tell me to go to hell, but couldn't. I think he knew I had a point. I reached up to touch his face.

Small fucking mercies. He didn't pull away and run for the hills. Goddamn this was getting too fucking deep. It was supposed to be my fucking night off!

"I'm just saying that I think you deserve better than that. I don't think a happy relationship demands you to change everything about yourself. But that's just my opinion and it's been established that I have no idea about relationships. So if you're happy with Alice then be happy with her. Or you know, you could always dump her ass and have me instead."

I sucked in a sharp breath. Did I just say that? I stomped my foot angrily and screamed.

"Why do I keep doing this?! I'm way too fucking horny!"

Jasper brought his hand up to cover his mouth, but I saw it all in his eyes. He was fucking laughing at me! See, this is what I get when I try to help people! Why did I even bother?

"It's not funny! You have no idea what it's like to go insane with lust!"

Jasper let out a soft purr and pushed his body right up against mine. Mmmh... His head dropped low so he could whisper into my ear. Sneaky fucking bastard...

"Don't I...?"

Goodbye, my ability to carry my own weight... This could only mean one thing.

Revenge.

I drank a little more from my bottle. Huh... I was already half-way done with it. I hoped Brody had more Ella-approved drinks in his tiny cooler. I smiled sweetly at Jasper.

And then I dropped his no doubt expensive as fuck leather jacket on the damp sand. He raised his eyebrow questioningly and crossed his arms. Yeah, you just wait... I was going to make him fucking drool like a labrador looking at a steak.

I kicked my shoes off and shimmied out of my jeans. They weren't the most obvious choice for a beach adventure, but I didn't have anything better. Mom had thrown out all of my not-skin tight clothes so...

"What are you...?" Jasper asked and then fell completely silent when I unzipped his hoodie and let it fall off of me. I smirked at his wide-eyed look.

Yeah, I looked good in my pink, almost nude coloured bikini. I raised my arms up, stretching my sides in a very pleasant way. Because, you know, you should always warm up before swimming.

"You wanna come swimming with me?" I asked sweetly. Not at all like I was flirting with him and asking him to come and have hot sex in the ocean with me.

"Ella, it's freezing out here."

Boo! What a spoilsport!

"Is the big bad Major _scared_?" I taunted him and walked backwards with a huge grin on my face. Jasper's eyes followed my every move and it made me feel like I was the most beautiful creature in the world.

"I'm not scared. I can't feel the cold like you can. I'm more concerned about you..."

Okay, so I understood that he was talking about my well-being but he made teasing him so fucking easy...

"Me? You don't have to be scared of me... I promise that I won't bite."

Fuuuuck his eyes were intense. He took slow steps to catch up with me. I kept walking backwards. My legs hit the water and some small part of me recognized that it was cold as fuck. But I was drunk and turned on, so I couldn't actually feel the coldness of the water.

"No, but I might..."

Ooh, kinky... I might actually be into that.

"Empty promises, Major Whitlock!"

Jasper flashed me a grin that I could only describe as feral. It looked like he was getting a little blurry so I blinked to see if it was just my eyes. I let out a screech that would make a banshee jealous when I opened my eyes and Jasper was standing right in front of me all of a sudden... And I was like waist-deep in the water.

How did that happen? I looked up at him like an idiot. My mind wasn't working quite as fast as I would've liked it to... but that was okay with me. No more voices taunting me and tearing my self esteem into shreds.

I giggled happily and splashed Jasper with the water. He was wearing his clothes and that was super disappointing. Like, was it too much to ask for him to flash some abs? He had to have them. There was no fucking way his body wasn't ripped as fuck.

"You really should be careful with your words, lil' darling."

He said that, but he would never actually do anything I wasn't okay with. Because Jasper was a good guy. A yummy, tall, muscular and good guy.

"You... are way too sexy."

Was I still holding my drink? I flexed my fingers and found that nope, I had dropped it somewhere. That wasn't fun. I was thirsty. And not drunk enough.

"Are you drunk, Ms Johnson?"

Mm... he should definitely call me Ms Johnson when he'd tutor me. I think I'd like that very much...

"Noooope. I'm a little bit tipsy. Just the tiniest bit..."

...It was possible that I was a little bit more drunk than just tipsy, but he didn't need to know that. I had never been out drinking with him before, so I didn't know if he was going to go full 'Angela' and try to stop me. Or if he would not want to make out with me if I was drunk.

"Wait, why are you wearing your clothes? You're all wet now." I asked, confused as to why I wasn't feeling his skin under my hands. Hands that were pressed against his chest.

Booooo, I wanted to feel his chest. I pouted. It was so unfair.

"I think you might be a little more than just tipsy... I really should get you to the dry land."

I giggled and pushed myself away from him. I wanted to swim! I threw myself into the water, sub-merging myself. A gentle reminder to myself; never laugh and dive at the same time. Seawater got sucked up my nose and it burned. I pushed my head above the water and tried to cough the water out.

Jasper was at my side immediately, looking all worried and adorable! And I was looking like a hot mess and I didn't like it one bit.

"Are you alright?"

 _You're just as ugly and disgusting on the inside._

My lower lip trembled and it had nothing to do with the cold. Nothing quite like a painful reminder to sober you up.

"I lost my drink. I want more."

"Sure thing, lil' darling. Let's get you warmed up, okay?"

Jasper Whitlock. A man with some really good plans! He carried me in his arms all the way to the bonfire, only stopping to pick up my clothes. I snuggled into his chest, enjoying the warmth he radiated.

"Aww, you went swimming without us?" Faye asked as soon as Jasper set me down and handed me my clothes. Or, more accurately his clothes. But they were mine now!

I nodded happily and pulled the hoodie over my very wet bikini top. Well... this wouldn't do at all! I zipped the damn thing up and then pulled my arms away from the sleeves. I undid the knots in my top and then pulled the entire thing out from under the hoodie. I tossed the wet and nasty thing behind us.

Jasper's eyes grew wide as fuck. I snorted and took a hold of my jeans. A new problem. I couldn't get them on when my legs were so clammy! Hmm... the hoodie was huge on me. It came all the way down to my knees.

Without thinking too much on it, I stood up and shimmied out of my bikini bottoms. Faye rolled her eyes at me and Jasper growled very softly. I guess he liked that I was naked under his hoodie. Maybe now he understood how I felt every fucking second I spent with him! Revenge was sweeeeet!

"You're killing me, Ella..." Jasper whispered into my ear. I gave him a sly wink and pushed him down into the log and then I decided that he'd make the best seat. So I sat in his lap.

Brody tossed me a bottle of wine. I eagerly uncorked it and took a good mouthful. The best thing about being drunk was that you no longer cared about how anything tasted like. It was great.

"Did you two kids have fun while we were away? Did Brody cry?" I leaned my back against Jasper's chest and pulled my knees up. Jasper threw his leather jacket over my legs so I wasn't flashing to everyone. Such a gentleman!

"I did not cry, you mongrel!"

I looked at Faye, edging her own. She gave me an evil little smirk and leaned in slightly.

"He did."

Jasper laughed out loud, making Brody wail miserably. The music was blaring, the wine tasted just okay, Jasper was rocking me gently and we were all joking around. It felt great.

 _You are just as ugly and disgusting on the inside._

Until it didn't. I bit my cheek to fight back the tears that were burning in my eyes. Nope, I wasn't going to do it! Lydia's words didn't mean shit! She was WRONG! I was nothing like _her_.

Jasper pushed my wet hair away from my face and looked concerned.

"Hey, you okay lil' darling?"

My head felt heavy. I was pretty sure I wasn't able to walk straight anymore. But it didn't fucking stop my thoughts from destroying me. Stupid Ella.

"I'm fine!" I said. A little too forcefully. Everyone stared at me. Brody looked like he was just waiting for something to happen. Faye looked sad. Jasper didn't believe a word I said.

 _You are just a miserable failure who will never find love and acceptance._

Goddamnit! I rubbed my eyes angrily and gulped down more wine. I needed it to stop. Right now. It was too much.

 _Ugly and disgusting._

I shivered. Why was it cold all of a sudden? I didn't like it. I wrapped my arms around me tightly, but it didn't help. It was like the coldness was coming from inside of me.

More wine. I needed more. I raised the bottle to my lips, but Jasper took it away from me.

"No! Give it back!" I sounded desperate. I was. There was pressure gathering in my chest and I wanted it to stop!

 _A miserable failure. You'll never find love._

"Baby, I think you've had enough..." He spoke quietly. I barely heard him.

"I'm fine! Honestly!" My voice shook. Fuck, why did it have to shake? My breathing picked up.

"You're not. I can feel it all. There's so much pain..."

 _You're ugly and disgusting. He'll never love you. You are a failure._

No! No no no no no no! I had to make it stop. I had to do something. Anything.

"You don't now a goddamn thing! I said I'm okay!"

I pushed myself up, wanting to get away from him. My legs were wobbly as fuck. Brody and Jasper both got up to grab my arms, but I didn't want them touching me. Nobody could touch me right now or I'd fucking fall apart.

"NO! Get away from me!" I screamed and smacked their hands away. I tried my best to walk in a straight-ish line to the cooler, but the sand was too soft and everything was kind of wonky in my head. My legs didn't want to listen to my commands.

I stumbled and started falling to the ground, but of course my knight in shining armour caught me before that. I blinked away my tears. I couldn't breathe. Jasper was too close.

 _Ugly. Ugly. Ugly. Ugly. He'll never love you. Never._

"Ella..."

 _You're just like Ariel. Ugly and disgusting. Just like Ariel..._

I screamed and yanked my body free from him. I glared at him through my tears. I couldn't stop it. I was weak and disgusting. Jasper looked at me with the most heartbreaking look on his face. He stepped away from me and the last fucking straw broke.

He left me alone. I was alone.

 _Ugly. Ugly. So fucking disgusting. Nobody loves you. Just like Ariel. So ugly... you don't deserve love. Nobody would ever love someone so ugly. You're alone. Always and forever. Alone._

I broke down into big, fat and slobby tears. My throat hurt from the noises I was making. I screamed out all the pain and stress and self loathing I had storaged inside of me and it fucking hurt.

I buried my head into my knees and just wailed. I wasn't aware of anything around me. I was alone. I had to be. Nobody loved me so nobody cared. I was so ugly... why would anyone give a damn about me?

I was a ball of pain and hurt and nothing made sense anymore. It was too much. I gasped for air, but nothing happened. I couldn't handle it. The tears and wails kept pouring out from me and my chest felt like someone was banging a hammer on it. My throat was on fire and I couldn't fucking breathe!

 _Ugly and disgusting. Just like Ariel. Ugly. Ugly. Uglyuglyuglyugly..._

"Ella! Shhh, please calm down. It's okay... Please don't cry, my love... Breathe... just breathe, please?"

Jasper? But that was impossible. Why would Jasper be here with me? No... I must've imagined him. It couldn't be real. He didn't love me. He couldn't have. Nobody did. I was alone and that was how it was supposed to be.

"I'm sorry... I know you don't want me to do this, but I have no choice. You have to calm down... Please forgive me, my love..."

A wave of something washed over me. It forced me to let go of my pain. Forced me to relax and forced air back into my lungs. I gasped for air desperately. Everything was blurry around me.

A hand came and wiped away my tears. I stared blankly at the person above me. Holding me. Looking at me with crushing pain written all over his face. Jasper...

"It's okay... I got you, lil' darling." He whispered.

A sense of calmness filled me. It felt really artificial and wrong. Like I knew that I wasn't supposed to be feeling it. The hurt ebbed away little by little. I swallowed heavily.

"Please don't leave me alone... I don't want to be alone." I mumbled. My eyes felt heavy. It was so peaceful...

"Never... I got you, Ella. I'll take care of you..."

And then there was only darkness.

* * *

Author's Final Notes:

Hi! I'm back! Does... does anyone remember me and this story anymore...? I'm officially back from my unintended hiatus. Who would've thought that December would be a busy month for people? That's just crazy!

No, but this was a difficult chapter for me to write. There was _a lot_ of editing done and I don't know if anyone will believe me, but this chapter was actually going to even longer originally. I had to shave it down a little, because 13000+ words is a little much for one chapter, right? Then again, thanks to me going and changing shit around, I feel like the ending is suuuuper rushed. I hope I managed to write a passable breakdown even if it does happen a little quickly.

Oh, I have a little something to say, so here is the AUTHOR'S PSA ON UNDERAGED DRINKING:

Now, I don't know how old you guys are, but if there are teenagers reading this story, I would like to tell you guys a few things about drinking while you are underaged or just new to it. I'm not going to waste my breath (or fingers) by telling anyone to not drink while you are underaged. I was young once. I drank before I was 18. And I do believe I did it as responsibly as possible. So here are few pro-tips to anyone embarking on the path of alcohol consumption.

1\. NEVER drink and drive. Under any circumstances. Unless someone's life is at stake, don't do it. Make a solid plan for getting home before you go out.

2\. Tell an adult that you trust. I know this might sound stupid, because there is a huge risk that the adult in your life that has your trust will forbid you from drinking. Deal with it. If you think you are mature enough to drink, then you should be mature enough to be honest about it. Trust me, your parents/other trusted adults would rather know what you are doing and where. This also eliminates the fear of not being able to contact anyone if something goes wrong.

3\. Only drink with people you trust. This is especially important when you are still learning your own limits. Will your friends abandon you if you pass out somewhere? Or will they take care of you if something happens? Will they call an ambulance for you if you get an alcohol poisoning? Or will they bail because they think they'll get in trouble for it? I recommend on selecting someone from your group that will remain sober so they can take care of the rest. And act as a designated driver if no other transportation is available.

4\. Don't drink just to get drunk. It might be cool and awesome to just get wasted. It's fun, I admit that. But it's not healthy to have a mindset like that. Ideally you would want to enjoy your beverage and if you are more focused on the social and culinary aspect of it, you are more likely able to pace yourself so you never go over that nice 'tipsy' stage.

5\. And lastly; Don't let anyone pressure you into drinking. Whether you decide to indulge yourself with a drink or not should be entirely up to you. If someone is pressuring you into acting in a way you don't feel comfortable with, they are not people you want around you. Drinking doesn't make you better or cooler than other people. It doesn't change you any more than eating pizza does. Remember; alcohol doesn't change who you are, it just lowers your inhibitions.

Our dear Ella here has all the wrong motives for her alcohol abuse. She wants to escape her pain, to numb herself. I hope I showed that it doesn't work. You might feel amazing and free in the beginning, but the problems in your life don't magially disappear. They will rear their head again when you least expect it and no amount of substance abuse will change that.

Well... this got all gloomy and preachy. Yikes! Let's move on from that subject! I'm at the stage where I want to go and change _everything_ about this chapter so I think that's my cue to leave this be. I'll never get to posting this chapter otherwise... :D

Next chapter should be good. Unless I fuck it all up. And it's most likely not going to take me a month to update. I'm really sorry to keep you guys waiting... I feel a little twinge of guilt whenever one of you lovely people remind me to update. Ideally I'd like to get back to updating regularly enough that nobody has to beg for more content. Sowwyyy...

I do hope that you all had lovely holidays and I hope you all have great New Years. Have fun, but be smart about it people! See you guys soon!


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18: You are beautiful. Always**

* * *

Ugh... I felt it as soon as I regained consciousness. Why the fuck did I drink again? Why do I do this to myself?!

My stomach rolled and I groaned in agony. My head was fucking killing me and I hadn't even opened my eyes yet. I was pretty sure that I was going to throw up if I opened them. Or if I moved. Or smelled something. Or just thought about anything too hard.

Shit... I was going to throw up, wasn't I? Yup... my whole body twitched when the first heave made its way up my throat.

The real question was if I would make it to the toilet before I chucked up everything I had inside of me, or would I have to start mopping the floors so early in the morning? Not that I had any idea what time it was, but it was still too damn early.

"Hey... are you okay?" Jasper asked softly somewhere above me. Now that I was more awake, I realized I was wrapped up into the covers like a fucking burrito. Okay, but how was I supposed to get out of this mess without vomiting all over myself and Jasper?

I had made myself look stupid enough yesterday. Yeah, I was not looking forward to tainting my image and reputation even more. And can I just say that it's so fucking unfair that I never forgot anything I did while drunk as fuck? Like, was that some sort of urban legend or did I just have some fucking birth defect or something? A total amnesia would've been so sweet right about now.

A second heave. I had chills running down my spine. Fuck... it was happening. This was not a drill.

I fought against the covers and tried to dig my way out to the freedom. My stomach wanted to projectile vomit itself out and this shit was slowing me down. I groaned miserably, squeezing my eyes even tighter shut and grabbing my head.

Right... I just had to get to the bathroom so I could do the nasty thing and then just crawl into a fetal position and die right there. That was a good plan. A solid plan. Now if only I had any idea how to get there in time...

"Help me!" I whimpered weakly, gritting my teeth together so nothing could come out of my mouth. I figured I had just a few seconds before everything would go terribly wrong.

And just like that, I was freed from the confides of the bed and I made a mad dash to the bathroom. I may or may not have slammed my body to the ground in the process, but I was beyond feeling pain at this point. I was in a hurry.

I barely made it to the toilet before I unleashed everything I had inside of me. Ugh... admittedly, it wasn't much since I hadn't actually eaten much of anything in the last 24 hours. I kind of wish I had binged on chocolate or something. You know, something that would've tasted a little better coming up than straight up bile.

I guess this was like some sort of divine punishment for drinking while underage or some bullshit like that.

Jasper appeared behind me and very gently pulled my hair back. Oh my fucking god... this guy. He was actually holding my hair back while I projectile vomited into the toilet. I would've been seriously embarrassed out of my mind if it wasn't so fucking touching.

Jasper Whitlock really knew how to take care of me. Wow.

It was amazing how much time you had to think when puking your guts out. I was going through everything that happened yesterday and my god, it might've been even more pathetic and painful than my current predicament.

Like, why in the hell would I let my asshole relatives get to me like that? I should've been fucking immune by now, but no... I just had to continue having nervous breakdowns. In front of Jasper. While begging him to stay with me.

Just fucking please kill me now. I had royally fucked up. How was Jasper still willing to hold my hair like that? He should've escaped in the middle of the night. He was too fucking kind for his own good.

"Can you get me some water?" I asked after I felt like I was done. I sluggishly flushed the toilet and crumbled to the cold floor with shivers for weeks. They weren't anywhere near as pleasant as the ones Jasper gave me.

I hated my life. Everything sucked. I was literally dying.

Jasper handed me a glass and I did my best to clean my disgusting fucking mouth with it. I was trying to decide if I could manage brushing my teeth or if I would drop dead doing that. Like, I wanted to. Desperately. But everything just hurt so badly. The mere thought of moving my hand in sideways motion made my stomach roll and my head ring.

Jasper made the choice for me. He scooped my weak ass body up in his arms and carried me back into the bed. If I didn't feel like a death crawled over, I would've enjoyed it very much.

"How are you feeling?" He asked quietly. Bless him for using his indoor voice.

"Like a million bucks, baby. Why, do I look bad or something?"

Oooh, he was rubbing my temples. Magic fingers were back at it again, reducing my aches and worries like it was no one's business. I hummed happily. He was making my head all better.

Damn, he would make such a good boyfriend. Why did he have to be married? And, you know, undead?

Wait, did this mean I was into corpses? Because... that's something weird to learn about yourself. Also, would anyone actually blame me for being into corpses if they looked like Jasper Whitlock? I think people would understand.

"You look gorgeous, lil' darling."

Fuck, how could he sound so sincere? I had to look like an absolute mess and he could still say something like that and make me fucking believe it! Goddamn he had a good poker face.

We should totally take a road trip to Vegas or something. As friends.

"Your friend has been calling you. I turned your phone on silent so you could sleep it off."

I groaned. Of course Angela had called. She was the bestest bestie ever. That girl could predict my meltdowns with scary accurancy. I was pretty sure she was part psychic or something. Or she just knew me and my self-destructive self too well.

I took my phone from the bedside table and squinted at the screen. It was too fucking bright. 6 missed calls. Angela had given up around 4 am. Poor thing, she must be exhausted.

I wished I would've felt good enough to call her immediately, but that was so not happening right now. And she needed her sleep. My brainy bestie couldn't shine if she didn't take care of herself.

 _Seriously hungover. I'll call you later and tell you everything. Sorry to worry you babe._

There. That was a short and sweet text message. Now I could go back to my suffering with a clear conscience. My hair hurt. How was it possible for my hair to hurt?

"I feel like shit..." I whined. I didn't want to think about the fact that I needed to get up soon and start making myself the prettiest I could possibly be so I could ruin Ariel's self-esteem entirely. It was easier to just be curled up against Jasper and suffer for my stupid decisions.

Although... I was supposed to be super pissed off at him using his magical mojo on me. Funny how that felt difficult with him rubbing my temples so gently...

Mmmm... Yeah, we should totally talk about that... later. Much, much later.

I heard a phone beeping and I blindly reached for it to see what Angela had replied, but it wasn't my phone that made noise. Jasper hummed and fished out his phone from the depths of his pockets. Well, this was a rare sight. Like, I didn't spend that much time on my phone, but I could count the times Jasper had held his phone this weekend with one hand.

Because it was just once. Yesterday when he called Rosalie. I was kind of curious about who was texting him.

Jasper just stared at the screen for god knows how long. His hand that had still been easing my headache stopped moving. What was going on? Like, had something happened?

"Everything okay there, buddy?" I asked. Because of course I did. As if I was capable of keeping my nose out of Jasper's business. I had proved that already.

Jasper clicked his tongue and shook his head like he was so done with whatever the text said. I tried to think of a subtle way I could sneak a peek of his phone. Our bodies were positioned in all the wrong ways for me to just casually look past his shoulder. Not that I would even see anything over his shoulder... unless he was sitting down and I stood up.

Sometimes it was a pain to be this goddamn short. It was a good thing that I was so fucking adorable. It made things bearable.

"It was Alice. She's being very cryptic again."

Well shit. I didn't think he'd actually want to talk about his super secret text message. Did I sense some trouble in paradise? I really shouldn't have felt so gleeful about it.

"So what's going on with our dear Alice today?" I asked. Admittedly with a little too much attitude. In my defense, I was pretty sure Alice Cullen deserved all the attitude in the world.

Jasper lowered his phone so it hovered over my face. Fucking bright screens. They were devil's creations. I grimaced and tried to ignore the way my brain slowly hacked itself to death with a fucking axe. There were more important things than my hangover. Namely butting into Jasper's business.

 _It's okay. I forgive you._

Okay, what the actual fuck? I could feel the passive aggressiveness attacking me through the phone screen. What the fuck was her problem? If she was pissed off at Jasper getting closer to someone who actually appreciated him as a fucking person, then she should have the lady balls to fucking talk to him face to face! Or at the very least call him.

"You know that Alice is a seer, right? I realized something last night and my future changed. She must've seen my new future." Jasper said with a sigh. He tossed his phone away and continued giving my poor head the magical treatment.

"And what, she doesn't like it so she's blaming you even before you've done anything wrong?" Damn it felt good to get angry. No more weepy Ella for this weekend. The bitch was fucking back and Alice was about to get put down.

Jasper laughed. Well, at least one of us was happy.

"You are just adorable when you defend my honour, Ella Johnson."

So... that's one way to get rid of a hangover, apparently. It was like all of my aches and nausea just vanished when my fucking hormones took over my body. Mmm... I wished I had brushed my teeth after all...

"So do you want to share with the class what you realized last night? I'm kind of curious as to what kind of realization changes someone's future."

Umm... was I sure that I wanted to know? Nope, not really. Shit. Why did I ask him that again? Oh right, because I was a nosy bitch. Good going, Ella. Why did it feel like I was about to get fucking burned?

What was that look on his face? He had almost tender look in his eyes, but his jaw was clenched like he was nervous or something. Did Jasper even get nervous? Like, I bet he was able to handle everything life threw at him without flinching.

"Very much so." He said. He was almost whispering.

That got my attention real fast. Like, was it too much to hope that this decision would involve us getting naked and busy under the covers? You know, after I had rinsed my mouth with a gallon of mouthwash and rubbed my skin raw in the shower for about an hour.

I was starting to realize what a hot mess I was. Jasper, being ever the gentleman, had not changed my clothes while I was passed out. So I was still wearing his very sand-stained hoodie... and nothing else.

Right... I made the wise decision to ditch my wet bikini last night. And now I had sand in all of my cracks and crevices. Fucking lovely. And my stomach rolled again.

"Okay, do tell."

His fingers stopped their magical massaging and instead he used them to brush my hair out of my face. Ugh... normally I would be all for it, but did he really need to look at my face so closely right now? I didn't even want to know what kind of a mutated swamp monster I looked like.

I really should've washed my face before passing out. Shit.

"Last night was an eye-opening experience for me. I realized that you are mortal. Fragile, weak and so precious. Compared to the life of a vampire, yours will pass in a blink of an eye." He said. All serious and shit. But with that gentle smile on his face.

You know, not exactly something I always wanted to hear, but I decided to wait and see where Jasper was going with this before I'd jump in to defend my puny mortal ass.

"I have centuries, millenniums to live and you have a few meager decades. To make things worse, that's only if nothing kills you before old age takes you. It terrifies me more than you can imagine."

I kind of wanted to say something sassy and badass as a response. I wasn't really liking the fact that he rubbed my humanity in my face like that. Like, he wasn't any better than me just because he was immortal. It kind of rubbed me the wrong way, but he sounded so fucking sincere that I bit down whatever I was going to spit out.

Honestly, the fucking things I did for love.

"I could try my hardest to protect you from harm, but the fact is that a mere virus or bacteria could take you away from me at any moment. You have no idea how much I want to run far away from you so the memories of you wouldn't haunt me forever after you are gone. It's so tempting to force myself to just forget you and go back to my safe, calm life."

"I'm not that fragile, you know. I'm a big girl and all that." I said. I had to. He was talking about me like I would break at the slightest touch. Like excuse me, but I had survived a vampire choking me, so give me some credit.

Jasper raised an eyebrow at me. What? Just how much of a weakling did he think I was?

"Ella, you stopped breathing yesterday. You could've died."

… when he put it that way...

"That was just... look, it was just a little meltdown. I'm fine." And here we go again. I swear it was my favorite phrase or something. I wondered if I was fooling anyone. I was so not fine, but that was so not the point of this argument. Jasper was being way too dramatic.

Hold up.

Wait... did he just...? Someone please tell me that I didn't just imagine him saying that I meant so much to him that he would miss me when I died.

"You need to stop saying that, lil' darling. You don't have to pretend when you're with me. I hope you realize that."

Okay, I was kind of ready to start bawling my eyes out again. What happened to the death of Weepy Ella? The bitch was supposed to be back, and not this emotional wreck. But then again, these choked up tears were the better variety. Goddamn I loved him so fucking much.

"Uh, were you going somewhere with this?" I asked and rubbed my eye. I was so not crying. Honest. My eye was just itchy.

Shut up.

"My realization was that while I'm deathly afraid of your demise, now I know that if you were to die tomorrow, a week or a year from now... the mere thought of letting the chance to have you in my life slip past my fingers would utterly destroy me. I could never forgive myself for that."

So... I was really liking the direction this conversation was heading towards. My heart started beating a little faster and I was pretty sure my face resembled a tomato at this point. Jasper Whitlock really had a way with words.

"Okay...?" Please tell me there was more to this. I needed there to be.

"I don't understand what's happening here. My attraction to you breaks the laws of everything I thought I knew. I have a mate, so all of this should be impossible. It makes no sense, but I can't and I won't ignore the fact that I feel an unstoppable urge to be near you."

I think I forgot how to breath again. But who the fuck cared? I certainly didn't. Oh my god, it was happening. Please let it happen...

"When I heard you crying, it tore at my soul. When someone threatens you, I want to destroy them to make sure you are safe. I feel so much joy and pleasure at the sound of your laughter... and when you look at me with those beautiful eyes of yours, filled with acceptance of who I am, I feel at peace and like I've come home."

Yep. I was dying. My fucking heart was going to explode at any minute. Holy fucking shit, it was really happening.

Jasper dropped his head so he could kiss my forehead. Good call. Why the fuck didn't I brush my teeth? Stupid, stupid Ella.

"I love you, Ella Johnson. So much that it scares me. Against all odds, you've captured my heart. I refuse to run away from my feelings. So... what do you say, will you be my girl?"

Oh my god.

Oh my fucking god.

My mind was blank. I didn't understand what was happening. Was I even awake? Did those words just come out of the mouth of the sexiest vampire ever? I screamed. Like, really screamed. I sounded like a fucking banshee. I wrapped myself around Jasper's yummy body and screamed right into his ear. I probably shouldn't have... he did have an excellent hearing, but I couldn't contain my feelings.

"...Is that a yes?" He asked. I could fucking hear his smirk. Like, did he even have to ask? I thought it was sort of obvious what my answer was going to be.

"Of course it's a yes, you dumbass. I love you so fucking much..."

He was my boyfriend. Holy fucking shit. Jasper Whitlock was my boyfriend!

Ella Johnson, at the tender age of 15 (almost 16) had a boyfriend. A 163 year old, blood-sucking boyfriend. I was so fucking happy. I wanted to smooch his beautiful face right off, but...

"Ugh... why couldn't you tell me that when I wasn't all gross and stuff?" I whined after my feelings had been sufficiently screamed out. I really wanted to kiss him right then and there, but I had thrown up like five minutes ago and let's not even mention how messy and dirty I was from yesterday's meltdown.

I needed a serious scrubbing right away. How could Jasper even look at me when I smelled like shit, my hair was a mess, I was in dirty clothes and I was pretty sure I had the raccoon eyes that would make any angsty emo teen jealous. Fuck...

Jasper laughed and pulled me tighter against his body. Mmm... I really liked it when he did that. He should totally do it all the time from now on. That would be the dream.

"You are beautiful, Ella. You're always so beautiful."

Oh fuck. Those smooth, smooth words again. How was I supposed to fight against that?

"How are you such a good liar? Like seriously, I must have a vomit breath right now. Or a morning breath at the very least. I don't even want to look in the mirror right now. There is no fucking way I'm beautiful right now."

His eyes crinkled in the most adorable way. There was definitely a spark in his golden eyes. He was happy. Actually happy. Because of me. Holy fuck, that made my heart beat so fucking hard. It was so much more addicting than his sex powers! Who the fuck would have guessed that making Jasper Whitlock happy was the recipe for perfect bliss?

"You do realize that I tortured humans until they unleashed everything they had in their bodies, right? There is no way I would be grossed out by your bodily functions. I think you beautiful just like this. Happy and smiling."

Now that sounded eerily like a challenge. I was so going to test that theory of him not being grossed out by me when I got my next period.

Did vampires think that period blood smelled yummy? That was so gross. Like, it was blood so was it delicious to them? Ugh... were there vampires that went down on girls on their period...? Why the fuck did I have to think about that?! I was making myself nauseous all over again. Stupid thoughts.

"You should get your eyes checked then. Ugh... I need a long shower and I _need_ to brush my teeth."

Jasper shook his head like he was mighty amused. What a weird guy. Ah well, it wasn't like I was going to throw a hissy fit because he called me beautiful when I didn't think I was. Who was I to complain when my boyfriend thought I looked amazing no matter what?

I just needed to get clean so I could enjoy myself with my boyfriend.

AHHH! I can't believe I had a boyfriend!

...or did I? I frowned slightly and eyed Jasper suspiciously.

"Just so we are clear, you are breaking up with Alice, right? Because I'm so not going to be the other woman."

I just wanted to be sure. I hadn't known Jasper for that long. Maybe he was one of those guys who wanted a side piece of ass. I doubted it, but you never knew. He could surprise me.

"Yes, you silly girl. I am leaving Alice. Or rather, I do believe she just left me. I love you and I want to be with you."

Aaaand my heart was singing. Shit. I was in deep trouble. But why the fuck would I care about that? Jasper loved me. Jasper Whitlock loved me!

"That's a relief. I'm not big on sharing, you see. But seriously, I need to haul my perfect ass in the shower. Mom's going to burst throught that door any minute now..."

"Mmm... but I would much rather just keep you right here for the entire day."

Okay, he should not be saying stuff like that to me when I was dirty as fuck. I wanted to fuck him so badly, but I felt so gross that I couldn't. Ugh... I groaned and nuzzled his shoulder. He was such an evil bastard, turning me on like that when he knew there was no way we could do what he was suggesting. There was a wedding to attend and I was going to make fucking sure that Ariel would have the worst night of her life.

And I needed to look fucking bomb while doing that.

"Yeah, I don't think that's going to happen before tonight. I'm going to enjoy the company of my mother the entire fucking day. I need to look perfect for the wedding."

I just realized that I was going to be with my mom the entire day. Fuck. Me. Could some supernatural force just strike me dead already? I was so not looking forward to that.

But then again, I was on a fucking mission so maybe it wouldn't be too bad. For once, we both wanted me to look so stunning that Ariel's plastic face would fall off.

"You already do... I don't want to leave you alone with _her_..." Jasper growled softly. Well fuck. He clearly wasn't over yesterday's little hiccup. That was going to come back and bite me in the ass.

Hardy-ha. Bite me in the ass. Get it? Bite, because he's a vampire? That said, would Jasper bite me in the ass? I might be into that.

"I'm not going to be alone. Faye has to be there too. Especially after the brawl mom had with Aunt Gloria. Hurricane Marilyn is going to attack us on full force." Yeah, I was just going to ignore the indication that Jasper was worried about me being with my mom. I wasn't going there. No way. Not today. Not when I was so fucking happy.

"Just... just don't listen to her words, lil' darling. I need to step out for a couple of hours, so I'm not here to defend you."

Hmmm... interesting. There was a scheming look in his eyes. You know, behind all of that worry for my well being.

"And what are you up to, Major Whitlock?" I asked, poking him in the ribs. Gently, because my finger could actually break if I poked him too hard.

Jasper gave me a secretive smile that made my face heat up. He was looking all sorts of cunning and dangerous. Gave me wonderful chills right down my spine. Whoa boy, I needed that shower quickly or I would lose all of my resolve.

I was so not going to make out with him while I had vomit-breath. I just wasn't that kind of girl.

But he was making it so damn difficult to resist.

"I have a little surprise for the bride... Let's just say that I took a page out of your playbook."

Shivers. Fucking shivers for days. I shuddered in pleasure and pushed myself out of his arms with the fucking determination of a fat guy going after the last piece of cake.

"You are the actual worst. Go. Go right now before my resolve crumbles to dust. I don't want to see your sexy ass before I'm put together and a lot less gross."

He laughed again. He had just the most beautiful laugh I had ever heard. He dropped a little kiss to my forehead and then he was out of the door. Planning something devious.

I just knew that Jasper would destroy Ariel completely. And it turned me on so fucking much.

There was something wrong with my head. But I really didn't give a fuck.

* * *

Author's Final Notes:

Well, as expected, nothing worked out quite like I had planned. You would think that as a person with no life whatsoever, I would find _time_ to write more often but no... Stupid real life obligations that I can't just not do. Still, I do freely admit that I spent at least 2 weeks worth procrastinating. My mind was overtaken by an obsessive thought and I needed to 'write' that story out in my mind before I could focus on this story. Sorry everyone, again...

I do hope that this makes up for it. Does it? I really hope it does. :D

BECAUSE IT FINALLY HAPPENED, PEOPLE! Jasper said those words. Finally, am I right?

Also, I wonder what Alice is planning? Is she truly so good and forgiving, or is there something else afoot...? Hmmmmm...

A special shout-out to New Momma! This chapter is dedicated to baby Calia. Congratulations. I'm sure she is beyond adorable!

Okay, I shall go back to writing now. I need to get back on track here. Thank you all so much for continuing to read this. I promise to make an effort to do better. I'm not happy about my lack of frequent updates and neither are you guys. So I'll try my hardest to change that.

ps, I'm terribly sorry for those who get super grossed out by bodily functions. Ella likes to get into details.


End file.
